9 September 1939

UNITED KINGDOM: Members of the League of Nations Non-Intervention Committee meet in London to discuss means to prevent foreign intervention in the Spanish Civil War. Despite the efforts of the international community, the Germans, Italians, and Soviets will send troops and equipment to assist both sides in the war.

UNITED STATES: The XPBS-1, a four-engined monoplan by Sikorsky Aircraft, made its first flight. Only one PBS, constructed as a long-range patrol plane, is built and it is later used as a transport. In February 1942, this aircraft was flown across the Pacific to the Netherlands East Indies to deliver spare parts for the PBY Catalinas of the USN’s Patrol Wing Ten (PatWing 10). The aircraft then returned to California where it sank in San Francisco Bay, California, in 1942.

British submarine HMS Ursula fired the first British submarine torpedoes of the war when attacking German U-35. The U-boat escaped.
Destroyer HMS Nepal laid down.
Corvette HMS Narcissus laid down.

BELGIUM: Belgian fighter planes attack two British bombers over Belgian territory. One Belgian plane is shot down, both British planes are forced to land. The British government apologizes for the incident.

NETHERLANDS: In Utrecht Province, a small basin is flooded, as a defensive precaution.

FRANCE: The last of 13 RAF squadrons flies to France to strengthen the British Expeditionary Force.

GERMANY: The second air raid alarm of the war sounds in Berlin. Göring broadcasts telling the German people that this might be a long war, and threatening terrible revenge if the French and British bomb Germany. Meanwhile Whitley bombers of the RAF have been dropping leaflets over Bremen, the Ruhr and Hamburg. The leaflets point out Hitler's responsibility for the war and it is hoped that their appeal to reason will make the German people "insist on peace". Quite apart from their effect on German morale the raids are providing useful training for the day when the bomb loads will be lethal. The crews are also under orders to report any enemy activity.

Field Marshal Hermann Göring, Commander of the Luftwaffe, gives a speech at a German munitions factory: "We will have our Nazism and the Russians their bolshevism, but we are both people who want peace and we are not going to be so silly as to smash each other's heads for Britain.”

French forces complete the capture of a German salient from Saarbruecken to Saarlautern, taking the villages of Karlsbrunn, Lauterbach, Ludweiler, Grossrosseln, and Saint Nikolaus.

Berlin: Field Marshall Göring boasts: "The Polish Army will never emerge again from the German embrace."

(i) Operations against Poland to continue until the enemy can no longer form a continuous front. Surplus military forces should be made available for transfer to the west.

(ii) Due to the half-hearted enemy opening of hostilities in the west, some operational restrictions remain in force unless personal approval is obtained. The German land frontier must not be crossed.

Flights across the west frontier allowed only to meet heavy enemy air attacks. No air attacks on the English homeland. Air support of naval activity is permitted. Naval restrictions outlined in Directive #2 remain in force. No offensive action at sea is to be undertaken against France.

(i) The final form of the government of the former Polish territory is yet to be decided. After Warsaw and Modlin are controlled, the Demarcation Line is to be secured by light forces. Air and Army forces necessary for the rapid destruction of remaining Polish resistance in the German zone are to be retained in the East. Preparations for general attacks to reduce Warsaw and Modlin before 3rd October should be undertaken although the attacks should await a personal order before proceeding.

(ii) The westward flow of refugees across the Demarcation Line will be halted at once (with the exception of racial Germans and Ukrainian activists).

(iii) The further strategy of the war is under consideration. No measures shall be undertaken to restrict freedom of decision. The possibility of conducting an offensive in the west at any moment must be kept open. Sufficient forces to ensure a rapid occupation of Lithuania should be maintained in East Prussia.

(iv) Directives for the conduct of land warfare in the West remain in force. At sea, trade warfare according to International Prize Law is to be waged against both France and England, free from previous restrictions. Attacks on French naval and air forces, and mining of embarkation points on the French coast are now permitted. Attacks on ‘passenger steamers’ or large vessels which obviously carry numerous passengers as well as cargo, are still forbidden. Existing limitations for air warfare remain in force. Aircraft may cross the frontier for the purposes of local reconnaissance and to attack hostile aircraft and observation balloons.

(v) Only the following terms will be used when describing submarine warfare; trade warfare’ [Handelskrieg] to describe activity in accordance with Prize Law, and the siege of England’ [Belagerung Englands zur See] to describe unrestricted submarine warfare. English merchantmen which are clearly armed may be attacked by submarines without warning.

On Germany's western front Ritter von Leeb's Army Group C has been reinforced with a further 9 divisions. His total strength now is 43 and two-thirds divisions. (Eddy Bauer and Michael Alexander)

A directive is issued by the Reich Ministry of the Interior authorising the establishment of medically supervised brothels throughout Reich territory. (Russell Folsom)

POLAND: Some tanks of German 4th Panzer Division penetrate onto the streets of Warsaw but are driven out after a fierce 5 hour fight and units of 16th Panzer Corps are probing the south-east suburbs, but having lost 60 tanks are awaiting reinforcements. The Lord Mayor of Warsaw, Stefan Starzynski, appeals for volunteers; 150,000 men and women dig trenches and build street barricades, machine guns are put on the roofs of houses. Polish units of General Tadeusz Kutrzeb's Poznan Army counter attack on the river Bzura against the flank of the German 8th Army which is protecting the mechanised column attacking Warsaw. As the threat develops, von Runstedt., commander of Army Group South, calls for maximum air effort and massed dive bomber attacks are launched from forward air-strips at Tschenstochau and Kruszyna.

Ciepelow: Elements of the III/15.IR (mot.) of the Heer, commanded by Oberst Wessel, gun down 300 disarmed Polish infantrymen. This event is recorded photographically by a German eyewitness, who subsequently relates:

"It did not mater to him [Wessel] that these were soldiers. He claimed that he was dealing with partisans even though each of the 300 Polish prisoners was in uniform. They were forced to take off their tunics. Yes, now they looked more like partisans. Their suspenders (aka braces) were then cut, apparently to prevent them from running away. Next the prisoners were forced to march down the road single file... Five minutes later, I heard the crash of a dozen German machineguns. I ran towards them and a hundred yards back I saw the 300 Polish prisoners shot and lying in the ditch by the side of the road." (Rossino, pg.184-185.) (Russ Folsom)

CANADA: At 2220 hours local, the Canadian Parliament accepts the throne speech, and approves of immediate support to Great Britain and France in the war against Germany. All but one member vote in favor.

U.S.A.: In a fireside chat, President Roosevelt said that he hoped fervently that America would stay out of the war he said, "I have seen war and I hate war".

The audience at the Fox Theater in Riverside, California, gets a surprise showing of the unreleased motion picture "Gone With The Wind" which is shown as the second feature. David O. Selznick, the producer of the film, sits in the back of the theater and observes the audience's reaction. The film premieres in Atlanta, Georgia, on 15 December 1939.

- The freighter SS Wacosta bound from Glasgow, Scotland to New York City, is stopped by a German U-boat and detained while the Germans search the ship and examine her papers. She is allowed to proceed after 3 hours.

- SS President Harding is detained by French officials who confiscate 135 tons of copper and 34 tons of petroleum products. The ship is then released.

GUATAMALA: President Jorge Ubico issues a decree proclaiming the neutrality of Guatemala.

Battle of Britain:
RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. 78 Sqn. 1 aircraft crashed on landing at Linton-on-Ouse. Crew safe. 51 Sqn. 1 aircraft ditched 120 miles off Firth of Forth on return from Bremen. 1 crew member killed, over 5 safe.
Bombing - Bremen shipyards - industrial targets at Berlin.
51 Sqn. Nine aircraft to Bremen. One returned early, six bombed primary. One badly damaged and ditched on return, four rescued, one drowned.
58 Sqn. Four aircraft. Three bombed primary, one bombed Wesermunde.
78 Sqn. Four aircraft to Berlin. Two bombed primary, two bombed alternatives. Three aircraft to Bremen, all bombed successfully.
2 Group: 101 Sqn. Invasion barges at Antwerp. 1 aircraft FTR. Two crew saved.

RAF Fighter Command: Thames Estuary and Southampton are attacked. Major attack with some 200 bombers on London frustrated by 11 and 12 Groups, jettisoned bombs damaging suburbs widely.

There are scattered showers and thundery in the east but the English. Channel is fair. During the day, one main attack is made in the afternoon by some 300 aircraft in the direction of Thames Estuary/South London and Biggin Hill but only a section penetrated to Central London. There are also a number of enemy reconnaissances, mostly over Convoys on East Coast. In the East, one raid is reported to have made an early morning attack on a Trawler, 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Lowestoft. Four raids made a reconnaissance of convoys off East Anglian Coast, of which one also penetrated to Bury St Edmunds. Two raids crossed Lincolnshire Coast. Interception is made by without success. In the South East, one early raid to Clacton and another from Beachy Head to Central London and back over Hastings. Later in the morning a raid of three aircraft approached the Kent coast. Fighters unsuccessfully attempted interception. Apart from patrols in Calais/Boulogne, France, area, there is little Luftwaffe activity until 1605 hours when formations began to mass in Calais/Boulogne area. From 1655 hours an attack in force on the South East crossed the Coast between North Foreland and Cover. German strength is estimated at some 300 aircraft amongst which there are reported to have been six four-engined aircraft with strong fighter escort. Up to 1730 hours the main trend is towards the Estuary and South London, though one raid of about 35 aircraft penetrated to Central London. A general drift Westwards then developed, and small raids are plotted as far West as Salisbury. The Luftwaffe withdrew in small groups and during this period Dover is shelled. 24 Squadrons of fighters are detailed to this attack, inflicting heavy casualties, and an intercepted instruction from Gruppe Headquarters read "Break off task if fighter opposition is too strong." Later it is reported that shipping off Dover is attacked by enemy seaplanes with fighter escort.

During the night of 9/10 September, the main target is London, including the City and West End. The usual stream of raids started to come out of Cherbourg and the Somme, France, about 2000 hours, crossing the coast between Isle of Wight and Dungeness, all proceeding to the London area, where again four to five raids are maintained for most of the period. From about 0230 hours the method of approach changed and activity increased. Raids have by this time practically ceased to come out of French Coast and are replaced by a larger series of raids from the Dutch Islands via the Thames Estuary into the London area, homing over Dungeness. Soon after 0430 hours the last raids are leaving the London Area and by 0455 hours the country is clear of enemy raids. There are a few raids before midnight in South Wales, Bristol, Midlands and one to Liverpool, and later raids spread up the East Coast with a few penetrations inland. Minelaying is suspected between Newcastle and Middlesborough. Dover is reported to have been shelled several times during the night.

Destroyers HMS Clare, Churchill, Chesterfield, Chelsea, Castleton, Campbeltown, Cameron and Caldwell commissioned.

NORTH SEA: Cruiser HMS Galatea is damaged by an acoustic mine in the Thames Estuary.

FRANCE: The French light cruisers FR Gloire, Montcalm and Georges Leygues and their destroyer escort leave Toulon, France, for Dakar, French West Africa. They reach Dakar safely on 14 September.

GERMANY:
Berlin: Hitler postpones the invasion of England until 24 September.
The Luftwaffe General Staff announces that the demise of Fighter Command is near, and issues new instructions for the systematic destruction of London. Luftlotte 2 will undertake daylight raids against key military and commercial targets in Greater London, while Luftlotte 3 would bomb the areas of government and docks.

The Germans warn that all ships in the war zones defined by the Axis powers are subject to attack.

PALESTINE: Italian planes bomb Tel Aviv.

INDIA: In Pondicherry, French Governor Bonvin proclaims the French Settlements in India's adhesion to Free France.

CANADA: The Second Victory Loan campaign begins to raise CDN$300 million (US$249 million).

U.S.A.: A Naval Appropriations bill becomes law in the US. This 5.5 billion dollar authorization will provide 210 new ships including 7 battleships and 12 carriers.
The first 8 overage USN destroyers in the destroyers-for-bases deal, are transferred to the RN at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

USS Aaron Ward (DD-132), commissioned as HMS Castleton (I-23), USS Buchanan (DD-131), commissioned as HMS Campbeltown (I-42), USS Abel P. Upshur (DD-193), commissioned as HMS Clare (I-14), USS Welles (DD-257), commissioned as HMS Cameron (I-05), USS Welborn C. Wood (DD-195), commissioned as HMS Chesterfield (I-28), and USS Hale (DD-133), commissioned as HMS Caldwell (I-20), part of the destroyers-for-bases deal.

USS Crowninshield (DD-134), is commissioned as HMS Chelsea (I-35), and USS Herndon (DD-198), is commissioned as HMS Churchill (I-45). In 1944 Chelsea as Dzerki and Churchill as Dyatelnyi will be transferred to Russia as Dzerki and returned to the Royal Navy in 1949. Churchill will be the last war loss of the class and the only one of the destroyers transferred to Russia to be lost. (Ron Babuka)

Don McNeill and Alice Marble win the national tennis titles at Forrest Hills, New York.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-28 sank SS Mardinian in Convoy SC-2.
U-47 sank SS Possidon in Convoy SC-2.

Yesterday Tomorrow

September 9th, 1941 (TUESDAY)

GERMANY: The Wehrmacht is getting help from a group of allies in its assault on Russia. Mussolini has sent an expeditionary corps, the Romanian army is engaged in the drive on Odessa, the Hungarians are supporting the thrust through the Ukraine and Franco has sent a contingent of Spanish "volunteers". The Slovaks too, have soldiers fighting for the Germans, and volunteers from Holland, Denmark, Belgium and Norway have been formed into legions of the Wehrmacht. The Finns are a disappointment to the Germans, doing no more than holding the northern line round besieged Leningrad.

U-162 is commissioned.

U-702 chief engineer killed during an accident in Kiel. The boat was undergoing trials at the time.

FINLAND: The Finnish advance in Karelian Isthmus is stopped. The troops have reached the outermost defences of Leningrad and dig into defence. Three years of trench warfare follows here, until the Soviet attack in June 1944.

Meanwhile the Karelian Army advances into eastern Karelia north of Lake Ladoga. The first signs of war weariness are already showing in the men. There have been instances of men declining to follow orders to cross the pre-1939 border; the common opinion is that the war is fought to reconquer the territory lost in the Winter War, not to annex new 'living space' from east. However, the majority of men are content with grumbling, and the serious cases of insubordination are few.

The official explanation for crossing the old border is to get as short lines of defence as possible. Tactically this is true, but the Finnish leadership is already discussing what shape the post-war 'Greater Finland' shall take. The most favoured option is the so-called 'border of three isthmuses': Karelian Isthmus (between Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga), Onega Isthmus (between Lakes Ladoga and Onega) and the isthmus between Lake Onega and White Sea, of which English name I don't have a clue ("Maaseln Kannas" is the Finnish name). The status of Kola Peninsula is still unclear; whether is will be claimed by Finland or Germany has not been decided yet.

If all this sounds preposterous, well, there were also some nutcases who thought that the Ural Mountains were Finland's 'natural' eastern border.

One wonders what these people (who were very few and belonged to the lunatic ultra-right-wing fringe) would have done with the 150 million-strong Russian minority... No-one in the Finnish military or political leadership entertained this notion.

U.S.S.R.: A volunteer Spanish "Spanish Division" arrives on the Leningrad Front to begin service with German forces against the Soviet Union.

Reconnaissance elements of Generalleutnant Walter Model's 3 Pz.Div. (XXIV Pz.K.) discovered a gap in Soviet defenses east between Konotop and Baturin.

Marshal of the Soviet Union Semen Budyenny, Commander in Chief Southwestern Theater, makes his first request to abandon Keiv. Premier Josef Stalin denies the request.

ROMANIA: Marshall Ion Antonescu fires the commander of the 4th Army, General Cuiperca. It comes after the first two rounds of bloody fighting, in which the Romanians failed to completely breach the Russian defences (backed up by prodigious quantities of artillery and mortar fire) at Odessa. Cuiperca frankly reported to Antonescu that his troops lacked the strength, both physically and in terms of morale, to successfully resume the assault. Antonescu, known for his frank speaking himself in a command culture where direct talk was often perceived as impolite and insulting, did not respond well to this analysis.

Antonescu claims that Cuiperca lacks "faith in the battle capacity of the Romanian Army." Antonescu has brought in his own defence Minister, Iacobici, to replace Cuiperca at 4th Army - a man considered one of the great academic brains of the Romanian staff. (Michael F. Yaklich)

ARCTIC OCEAN: In the Svalbard Islands in the Norwegian Sea, British, Canadian, and Norwegian troops land on Spitsbergen Island to destroy coal mines the Germans Nazis might use for fuel.

IRAN: Tehran: Iran expels German and Italian "tourists" and diplomats. She accepts the Anglo-Soviet armistice terms.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: MacArthur "> MacArthur complains to Grunert that the training of the mobilized Philippine troops is not going well.

Marshall advises MacArthur that he had “the highest priority” for supplies and for the filling of the “authorized defence reserve” of 50,000 men. (Marc Small)

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Port Hope laid down Toronto, Ontario.
Corvette HMCS Dunvegan commissioned.

U.S.A.: The USN's Bureau of Aeronautics requests that the National defence Research Committee and the Naval Research Laboratory to develop an interceptor radar suitable for installation in a single-engined, single-seat fighter, e.g., the F4U Corsair.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: In the North Atlantic, Convoy SC-42 (Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, to the U.K.), consisting of 65 merchant ships escorted by the Canadian destroyer HMCS Skeena (D 59) and the three corvettes, HMCS Kenogami (K 125), Alberni (K 103) and Orillia (K 119), comes under attack by German Wolfpack Gruppe Markgraf of 14 boats. The first ship sunk is straggler from the convoy, a 5,591 ton British freighter, which is struck at 2140 hours GMT by a torpedo fired by U-81. The ship sinks off the east coast of Greenland about 532 nautical miles (985 kilometers) west of Reykjavik, Iceland, in position 61.38N, 40.40W. At 2130 hours GMT, a 5,525 ton British freighter is struck by a torpedo fired by U-432 and sinks in the same general area. (Dave Shirlaw & Jack McKillop)

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UNITED KINGDOM: Minesweeper HMS Cadmus commissioned. Escort carrier HMS Empress laid down.

NETHERLANDS: During the night of 9/10 September, RAF Bomber Command dispatches aircraft to lay mines in two areas: seven lay mines in the Frisian Islands and three lay mines off Texel Island..

GERMANY: Chancellor Adolf Hitler takes over direct command of Army Group A on the Eastern Front. General List is sacked.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches six Mosquitos to attack three cities without loss: three bomb Osnabruck and one each bomb Bielefeld and Munster.

During the night of 9/10 September, RAF Bomber Command dispatches aircraft to lay mines: five each mine Gironde Estuary, Heligoland Bight and Kattegat. One Lancaster is lost.

U.S.S.R.: Vinnitsa: Field Marshal List is sacked as commander of Army Group A, currently operating in the Caucasus; General Paul von Kleist succeeds him.

LIBYA: US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24 Liberators attack Tobruk harbor and shipping.

MADAGASCAR: British troops renew their offensive in order to ensure the safety of military objectives and gain air and sea control of the Mozambique Channel. The 29th Brigade makes a surprise landing on the west coast in the vicinity of Majunga during the night of 9/10 September and seizes the town virtually unopposed.

NEW GUINEA: On the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, the Australians continue their delaying withdrawal southward and reach Menari about noon.

US 5th Air Force A-20 Havocs, in support of encircled Australian ground forces, strafe and bomb troops in the Efogi Spur area.

The Australian 25th Brigade lands at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. This unit will be rushed northward to reinforce the troops fighting on the Kokoda Track.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Lieutenant General Hyakutake Seikichi, commander of the 17th Army, lands at Tassafaronga, Guadalcanal. Elements of the 2nd Division are also landed. As commander of the Japanese 17th Army, his presence on the island indicates some importance now attached to the battle for this island and Henderson Field. His previous HQ was at Rabaul, New Britain and he controlled operations in New Guinea.

The IJN sends 26 "Betty" bombers (, Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers) and an unknown number of "Zeke" fighters (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) to attack Guadalcanal at noon. USMC F4F Wildcats intercept and shoot down 7 "Betties" and 3 "Zekes;" the Marines lose 4 F4Fs. On Guadalcanal, Fighter-1, the grass-surfaced auxiliary fighter airfield, is declared operational.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: In the Aleutian Islands, a US 11th Air Force B-26 Marauder patrols Tanaga and Adak Islands.

CANADA: Canadian War Cabinet closes the St. Lawrence to all Allied shipping except coasters; due to German U-Boat submarine danger.

U.S.A.: Lieutenant General Henry H "Hap" Arnold, Commanding General USAAF, submits to the Chief of Staff a plan (AWPD-42) estimating the size of the air force necessary to attain air ascendancy over the enemy and outlining suggestions for the use of these forces in the several theaters; this plan, which by 17 November 1942 has been approved by the War Department and President Roosevelt, includes the build up of the depleted 8th Air Force in the UK and contains the seeds of the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO).

An IJN Yokosuka E14Y Navy Type 0 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane, Allied Code Name "Glen," launched from the submarine HIJMS I-25 off the west coast, drops four 76 kg (167.5 pound) incendiary bombs on a mountain slope 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Brookings, Oregon, causing a small forest fire. This is the first time the continental U.S. was bombed in WWII. The aircraft is crewed by Warrant Officer Noburo Fujita and his observer Shoji Okuda.

President Roosevelt orders a news blackout for morale purposes. (Jack McKillop and Phil Jacobsen)

The last radio message from the U.S. Coast Guard weather ship USCGC Muskeget (WAG-48) is received. It is believed that she is sunk by the German submarine U-755 somewhere in the North Atlantic while en route from Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.A., to Weather Station Number 2 located about 509 nautical miles (943 kilometers) northeast of Saint John’s, Newfoundland. All 121 men aboard are lost.

In the North Atlantic, Convoy ON 127 (U.K. to North America) is sighted by German submarine U-584. The convoy consists of 32 merchant ships escorted by two Canadian destroyers, HMCS Ottawa (H 60) and St. Croix [I-81, ex USS McCook (DD-252)], three Canadian corvettes, HMCS Amherst (K 148), Arvida (K 113) and Sherbrooke (K 152), and the British corvette HMS Celandine (K 75). U-584 loses contact during the night. ( Jack McKillop)

On D-day for Operation STARKEY (a rehearsal for the invasion of France), the US Eighth Air Force in England dispatches a record number of 330 heavy bombers against various targets in France.
(1) 20 B-17s bomb the industrial area at Paris, at 0903 hours and 48 others hit the secondary target, the Beaumont Suroise Airfield; they claim 16-2-9 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 B-17s are lost;
(2) 59 B-17 bomb Tille Airfield at Beauvais at 0816-0819 hours;
(3) 37 B-17s attack Nord Airfield at Lille at 0830-0833 hours;
(4) 52 B-17s bomb Vendeville Airfield at Lille at 0830-0840 hours;
(5) 51 B-17s hit Vitry-en-Artois Airfield at 0837-0840;
(6) 28 B-24s bomb Ft Rouge and Longuenesse Airfields at St Omer; and
(7) 35 B-24s attack Drucat Airfield at Abbeville. All missions except (7) above are escorted by 215 P-47 Thunderbolts that claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-47's are lost.

Operation STARKEY is a disappointment as the Luftwaffe refuses to commit fighter defenses on a large scale, thus preventing possible destruction of many of their aircraft, which Allied air forces hoped to accomplish.

The US VIII Air Support Command flies Mission 55 against coastal defenses around Boulogne, France; 202 B-26Bs hit the targets at 0745-0915 hours; 3 B-26's are lost.

Midget submarine "Welman 10" which was being operated by SOE sank alongside the depot ship HMS Forth. The commander (Lt B Pedersen of the Norwegian Army) makes an unaided escape to the surface. There are no casualties. (Alex Gordon)

FRANCE: Paris: A grenade is thrown into the offices of the PPF in the 18th arrondissement, in the rue Lamarck, while a meeting is in progress; there is one death, Madame Brunet and 20 wounded.

Corsica: Italian troops of the Cremona and Friuli Divisions drive off the Germans at Bastia.

BULGARIA: With the death of King Boris III, the Bulgarian parliament approved a Council of Regency composed of Prince Cyril (Simeon II's uncle), Bogdan Philov (a Bulgarian statesman), and General Nokola Michov.

U.S.S.R.: The Russians take Bakhmach after an advance west from Konotop. The German 17th Army begins to pull out of its forward position in the Kuban.
Polar Fleet and White Sea Flotilla: Submarine "K-1" - wrecked close to Novaya Zemla. (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

Moscow: The Red Army has set out on another stage of its inexorable march to the west with a powerful thrust towards Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine, which the Germans have turned into a major base. This follows the storming of the railway junction at Bakhmach after two days of fighting. Red Star, the army's newspaper, says today "we feel the beginning of the end."

NORWAY: SPITZBERGEN: The pride of the German fleet battered the shore installations here today and succeeded in putting the radio station out of action when troops of the German 349th Grenadier Regiment land and blow up the Allied installations.

The attacking force comprised two battleships, TIRPITZ and the Scharnhorst , and ten destroyers. The TIRPITZ is Germany's most powerful battleship, yet today's action is the first time that her heavy guns have been in action since she was built two years ago.

The modest target chosen is a measure of the Royal Navy's success in keeping this powerful force holed up in Altenfjord, in the north of Norway. The ships will need to race back to Altenfjord and anchorages at Langfjord to avoid a confrontation with Britain's Home Fleet.

ITALY: The Italian mainland is invaded in Operations AVALANCHE and SLAPSTICK. Under protection of the USN's Task Force 80 (Vice Admiral H. Kent Hewitt), the Allied Fifth Army (Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, USA) lands on the assault beaches in the Gulf of Salerno in Operation AVALANCHE. Salerno had been chosen as the site for the invasion because it was the northern-most point to which the Allies could provide air cover from bases in Sicily. On the left flank, British Commandos and U.S. Rangers land at Vietri and Maiori respectively with orders to advance northward and capture passes through the hills. The British 46 and 56 Divisions land south of Salerno meeting strong German resistance but manage to get ashore. The U.S. 36th Infantry Division lands north and south of Paestum and have heavy casualties because of strong German resistance. Once ashore, the Americans meet less resistance. Meanwhile, the British launch Operation SLAPSTICK. The British 1 Airborne Division makes an amphibious landing at Taranto and then captures the airfield at Foggia.

King Victor Emmanuelle and Prime Minister Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio flee Rome and set up a Government in Brindisi. The Italian Armed Forces become confused and leaderless and do not know whether to fight the Germans or not. Badoglio orders his military to stop any hostilities and the Germans begin to disarm the Italian Army; over 615,000 Italian soldiers are taken prisoner. Many Italian officers protest this disarming and are shot. Only 1% of the soldiers offer to join the Germans.

The anti-Badoglio, German-allied Italian government, the Republican Fascist Government of Salo, is formed in northern Italy.

German troops try to occupy Bari harbor. Major General Nicola Bellomo, commander Commander in Chief IX Territorial Defence Command, forms a group of about 100 men and counter-attacks the German position, with himself personally leading the action. After two hours of fighting, the Germans are ousted out of Bari.

The Germans have unleashed a new weapon of warfare which claimed as its first victim one of the Italian ships heading here to surrender. The battleship ROMA was hit by a "glider bomb" in the Gulf of Asinara off Sardinia and blew up soon after firing her first and last shots in battle. The ship was en route to Malta from the Italian naval base at La Spezia.

The Germans have two types of glider bomb - the Ruhrstahl SD-1400 and the Henschel HS-293 - which are released from the air to hit targets on the ground. In effect, they are unmanned missiles which can be used against targets on land as well as at sea.

Amongst the 1,523 dead on the ROMA is Admiral Carlo Bergamini, commander of the Italian combined battle fleet (hence senior naval commander afloat in the Italian forces.) (Michael F. Yaklich)

One of the clauses of the armistice between the Allies and Italy specified that the ships of the Italian Navy, bearing black circular panels in sign of surrender, would sail to Malta to await their final destiny. The Italian ships sail but do not bear the black circular panels. At 0300 hours local, three battleships, the Roma, the Vittorio Veneto and Littorio, leave La Spezia along with 3 cruisers and 8 destroyers. Instead of sailing for Malta, they head for the naval port of La Maddelena on Sardinia and are sighted by Allied aircraft at dawn. At 1340 hours, the Italians learn that the port had been occupied by the Germans and they turn south and head for Malta. At 1400 hours, German aircraft sight the fleet and attack but miss. At the same time, 6 Dornier Do 217K-2s of II Gruppen, Kampfgeschwader 100 (II/K.G. 100) take off from Istres, France, armed with Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-1 (Fritz X) remote control bombs with a 320 kilogram (704 pound) warhead. The first attack comes at 1530 hours, while the ships are about 14 miles (22.5 kilometres) southwest of Cape Testa, Sardinia. The first Fritz X is directed toward the Littorio and it falls near the battleship temporarily blocking the rudder; the crew goes to auxiliary rudder and continues. At 1545 hours, a Fritz X strikes Roma on the starboard side, goes through the hull and explodes in the water reducing the ship's speed to 10 knots. A second Fritz X hits Roma at 1550 hours and explodes in the forward superstructure starting a fire. The ship lists to starboard and sinks at 1612 hours with 88 officers and 1,264 sailors. Other Italian ships lost are the cruiser Taranto, destroyers Maestrale, Corazziere, Nicole Zeno and FR 21 (Former French destroyer Lion) and Torpedo Boats Antonio Cascino and Procione, all of which are scuttled in various ports to prevent German capture. The destroyer Antonio Da Noli sinks off Corsica after hitting a mine.

In the air, USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24s hit the satellite airfield at Foggia in support of British airborne landings. The USAAF Twelfth Air Force sends 100+ B-17s to bomb bridges at Capua and Cancello Arnone, and 240+ B-25s and B-26s to hit railroad-bridges at Potenza and landing ground at Scanzano. XII Air Support Command fighters maintain patrols over Salerno, and other Northwest African Tactical Air Force planes bomb and strafe motor transport, roads, and other targets in the Catanzaro-Auletta-Rogliano area and north-northwest of Salerno.

During the night of 9/10 September, 52 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the marshalling yard at Grosseto while three others drop leaflets over the country.

Allied landings occur at Salerno and Taranto, Italy. The British 1st Airborne Division lands by sea at Taranto with little opposition. The US forces at Salerno, from General Clark's US 5th Army and General McCreery's British X Corps, meets stiffer resistance. Both landings are successful.

Taranto: In the hastily-improvised Operation SLAPSTICK, six British warships entered this port today to land 3,600 British paratroopers on Italian soil. No Germans were to be seen, and the Italian garrison cheered as the British came ashore. Taranto was beyond the range of air fighter cover from Sicily, but the Allies wanted to secure a port to supply advances up Italy's eastern flank. They also wanted to ensure that Italian warships did not fall into German hands; but the Italian fleet is already under way to surrender at Malta.

Salerno: No invasion has started in such a holiday spirit. Soldiers in this huge convoy were tensed for the start of Operation Avalanche when the voice of their commander-in-chief, General Eisenhower, came over the ships' tannoys announcing the Italian surrender. The announcement was greeted with cheers and whoops and talk of the signorinas in Naples tonight. Officers did issue warnings, but the atmosphere was dangerously relaxed as Americans and Britons clambered into their landing craft soon after midnight. Some, like the American Rangers and British Commandos have landed on darkened beaches and have met no resistance until well ashore. Not even the commanders knew that the retreating Germans had shrewdly placed three Panzer divisions and the 29th Panzergrenadier Division in the Salerno area.

On the right flank of the British X Corps the 56th British Infantry Division met no opposition as it disembarked on empty beaches, but has come under fierce counter-attacks from tanks as it advances on Montocorvino airfield. Others from the division reached the village of Battipaglia, but - despite the aid of naval gunfire - could not dislodge the Germans. Troops from the 46th Division are driving northwards along the coast road to Salerno itself.

To the south of the Sele river - which divides the two Allied beach-heads - two regiments of the US 36th "Texas" Division were wading ashore when flares lit the entire scene. The Americans - many facing their first battle - came under withering fire from unseen German defenders and threatened to panic. Weeks of careful planning and rehearsal were forgotten as soldiers dived for cover and landing craft turned back towards the transports out at sea.

While the Texas Division sorted itself out - making its way eventually to its first objective, one-and-a-half miles inland - three battalions of US Rangers succeeded in taking Chiunzi Mount during the night. By dawn today they had taken the twin peaks overlooking the pass and the main highway to Naples.

The huge Allied army is ashore; but the two beach-heads north and south of the Sele remain separated by a seven-mile gap. At sea, General Mark Clark, the US Fifth Army commander, has little idea of what is happening on land. His view of the battle is obscured by smoke, and radio communication is patchy. A German reinforcements race towards Salerno, the holiday is over.

Sardinia: USAAF Twelfth Air Force P-40s fly an uneventful sweep over the island.

CHINA: 8 USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and 11 P-40s attack the White Cloud Airfield at Canton; 4 P-38 Lightnings bomb the docks at Whampoa; and 8 P-40s and P-38s hit shipping on the Yangtze River shipping near Chiuchiang, Kichun, Wusueh, Ocheng, and Changanyi, and strafe targets of opportunity in the general area.

BURMA: US Tenth Air Force B-24s again mine the Rangoon River during the night of 8/9 September.

EAST INDIES: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb Selaroe Aerodrome on Selaroe Island, Netherlands East Indies, located about 259 nautical miles (480 kilometers) north of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, Major General Edward Milford, General Officer Commanding Australian 5th Division, order the American and Australian troops in the Salamaua area to advance tomorrow. Meanwhile, the Japanese XVIII Army is ordered to withdraw their troops in Salamaua to Lae. The Australian troops in the Lae-Nadzab area cross the Busu River and holds a bridgehead against counterattacks.

Four USN high-speed transports bombard Lae.
In the air, USAAF 5th Air Force B-25s attack the coastal area from Alexishafen to Finschhafen. Heavy bombers attack Garove Island.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The USN submarine Grayling (SS-209) is sunk, possibly rammed by the Japanese transport SS Hokuan Maru in the South China Sea west of Luzon, Philippine Islands.
The USN submarine USS Harder (SS-257) sinks a Japanese merchant cargo ship southeast of Tokyo, Japan.

The Japanese submarine I-182 is sunk by the USS Trout (SS-202) off the Philippine Islands. (Mike Yared)(144 and 145)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: USN Admiral William F. Halsey, Commander of the South Pacific Ara and the Third Fleet, proposes that the Treasury Islands and Choiseul Bay be secured as bases from which the southern Bougainville Island-Shortland Islands area can be neutralized. The suggestion is not accepted by General Douglas MacArthur, Commander of the South West Pacific Area.

12 US Thirteenth Air Force B-25s and 50+ SBD Dauntless dive bombers pound Vila Airfield on Kolombangara Island and barges at Disappointment Cove on New Georgia Island. 18 B-24s, with fighter escort, bomb Kahili Airfield on Bougainville Island; 2 nearby coastal guns are also hit.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators attack Garowe Island in the Witu Islands located about 118 nautical miles (218 kilometers) southwest of Kavieng, New Ireland Island.

* The 11-minute war documentary film "The Last Will and Testament of Tom Smith," directed by Harold S. Bucquet, film stars George Reeves, Lionel Barrymore, Walter Brennan, Barbara Britton and Walter Abel; Fred MacMurray is the uncredited narrator. The plot concerns Tom Smith, an American pilot shot down and captured by the Japanese. While awaiting execution, he recalls his life in the U.S.

* "So Proudly We Hail!," directed by Mark Sandrich, stars Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake, George Reeves, Barbara Britton, Walter Abel, Sonny Tufts and John Litel; Yvonne De Carlo appears in an uncredited bit part. This war drama is about U.S. Army nurses in the Philippines in 1941/42 and is nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actress for Goddard.

Destroyer escorts USS Coffman, Baker and Hodges laid down.
Heavy cruiser USS Helena laid down.
Minesweeper USS Incredible laid down.
Submarines USS Ronquil, Redfish and Razorback laid down.

- Mission 613: 68 B-17s fly Operation GRASSY to drop 180 containers of supplies to French Resistance Fighters 25 miles (40 km) south of Besancon without loss. Escort is provided by 30 of 32 P-51s without loss.

- Mission 614: 1,140 bombers and 435 fighters, in 3 forces, are dispatched to hit targets in western Germany; the primaries are attacked by both visual and PFF means; 14 bombers and 1 fighter are lost.
(1) 387 B-17s bomb the marshalling yard at Mannheim while 2 others hit targets of opportunity; 5 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 140 P-51s.
(2) 265 B-24s attack the marshalling yard at Mainz; targets of opportunity are the marshalling yard at Worms (24) and Koblenz (6); 3 B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 125 P-51s.
(3) 251 B-17s bomb an armaments plant at Dusseldorf; targets of opportunity are Bonn (12), Leverkusen (11) and others (16); 6 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 142 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost.

- Mission 618: 7 B-17s drop leaflets on Belgium, France and Germany during the night.

The VIII Fighter Command fighter-bomber fly 2 missions.
(1) 44 P-47 Thunderbolts sweep the Lingen-Munster-Haltern area to spot flak positions and troop concentrations and strafe an airfield; they claim 1-1-0 aircraft in the air and on the ground.
(2) 196 P-47s and P-51s bomb and strafe shipping between the German mainland and Schouwen, Overflakee and Walcheren Islands, the Netherlands, installations on the islands, and rail and road traffic northwest and northeast of Frankfurt/Main; they claim 13-0-5 aircraft in the air and on the ground; 7 P-47s and 1 P-51 are lost.

BELGIUM: Canadian forces liberate Bruges. Troops of the Canadian 2 Corps moving along the coast enter Ostend and Nieuport.

LUXEMBOURG: Prince Felix and Crown Prince Jean enter Luxembourg with U.S. troops. (Jack McKillop

NETHERLANDS: The U.S. 113th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) enters the Dutch panhandle near Maastricht.

During the night of 9/10 September, four RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb Havelte Airfield at Steenwijk.

FRANCE: Beaune, Le Creusot and Autun fall to French forces in the south of France.

As a result of the executions of all the men in the southwest Dordogne village of Saint Julien-de-Crempse a month ago, 17 German prisoners are removed from their cells at the Bergerac prison to Saint Julie-de-Crempse, where they are summarily executed and buried in a 30-foot-by-6-foot grave. (Pierre Sauvey, AP)

Brigadier General Charles de Gaulle forms a provisional French government that includes Communists. Geogres Bidault is now the Foreign Minister.

The Provisional Government of France issued a proclamation abolishing all laws promulgated by the Vichy government.

The US Ninth Air Force flies tactical missions in northern France. Fighters fly escort, furnish ground force cover for the US VIII Corps in the Brest area, the 2d, 5th, and 8th Infantry Divisions of the US Third Army's XX Corps area west of Metz, and fly armed reconnaissance in areas around Nancy, and Aachen, Cologne, Koblenz, Bonn, and Saarbrucken, Germany; fighters also hit bridges at Custines and Pompey; 700+ C-47s fly missions. B-26s fly a leaflet mission to coastal France and Belgium.

The US Twelfth Air Force flies tactical missions in southern France and Italy. Fighter-bombers and fighters attack railways and roads in the Po Valley and from Genoa to Turin; motor transport and rolling stock are bombed and strafed in northern Italy and eastern France, with particular success in the Belfort-Mulhouse-Freiburg, France areas.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 272 aircraft, 230 Halifaxes, 22 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos, to Le Havre but, because of poor visibility, the Master Bomber ordered the raid to be abandoned and only 16 aircraft bombed. No aircraft lost.

Lorraine: After a spectacular dash across central France, Patton's US Third Army has run out of petrol and is halted as the Moselle river, within striking distance of Germany. Only the capture of 37 carloads of German fuel has averted complete paralysis. While ammunition and food present no problems, fuel shortages are also holding up the US First Army within sight of Aachen, and Montgomery's 21st Army Group on the Albert Canal.

Some supplies are being airlifted by C47 transports, but the bulk must be carried by road on the chaotic "Red Ball Route" from the Allies' only working port, Cherbourg, more than 300 miles to the rear.

ROMANIA: Bucharest: The Red Army is pushing remorselessly into the Balkans as the German's control of the region falls apart. General Tolbukhin's Third Ukrainian Front met no resistance when it crossed into Bulgaria yesterday, and the Bulgarian government announced that it had declared war on Germany, adding that the Russians should be welcomed "as brothers."

The Russians are already here in Bucharest and the Romanian army is fighting alongside them in the Carpathians, where they are forcing their way through the high mountain passes into Hungary.

As yet the Hungarian army remains loyal to the Wehrmacht and is fiercely resisting the Russians, but Budapest is full of rumours that the Hungarian leader, Admiral Horthy, wants to change sides.

The situation is entirely different in Yugoslavia where Tito has liberated large areas in the south. The Russians crossed the border from Romanian three days ago and are expected to link up with the partisans in the next few days.

Agreement has already been reached between the two forces about the future conduct of operations. For the moment Tito's task is to cut the communications of the Germans retreating from Bulgaria and of General Alexander Lohr's Army Group E as it abandons its untenable situation in Greece.

The RAF and the USAAF have played a major role in the task with Operation Ratweek, cutting all the main German escape routes from Bulgaria and Greece to Vienna and Budapest. Lohr and Field Marshal von Weichs of Army Group F in Yugoslavia will no doubt try to fight their way out to the north, but many men on the Greek islands stand no chance of escape. The question that is increasingly on the minds of the Allied leaders is: what form of government will be established in the Balkan countries in the wake of the Red Army's spectacular success.

ITALY: The USAAF Twelfth Air Force flies tactical missions in southern Italy. B-26 Marauders achieve excellent results against rail bridges in the eastern Po Valley while B-25 Mitchells bomb troop concentrations and supply points south of Bologna; fighter-bombers and fighters attack railways and roads in the Po Valley and from Genoa to Turin and motor transport and rolling stock are bombed and strafed in northern Italy.

BURMA:17 US Tenth Air Force B-24s run fuel to Kunming, China; numerous other transport sorties are flown to several points in the CBI.

CHINA: 5 US Fourteenth Air Force B-24s over the South China Sea claim 4 freighters sunk or heavily damaged.

KURILE ISLANDS: 6 US Eleventh Air Force B-25s hunt shipping off Paramushiru Island; 4 return to Attu Island, Aleutian Islands with bombs, finding no targets; 1 lands on 1 engine in Petropavlovsk, USSR; and 1 hits the mast of a vessel and ditches in the water. A PBY-5A Catalina of Patrol Squadron Sixty One (VP-61) based on Attu attempts to land and pick up the B-25 crew but it is driven off by AA fire and the 6 Americans become POWs. 3 B-24s make an uneventful raid during the night of 9/10 September on Kashiwabara, Paramushiru Island; later 2 photo planes escorting 2 bombers over the Kurile Islands on a mapping project are attacked by fighters which inflict no damage.

PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarines sink five Japanese ships: (1) USS Bang (SS-385) sinks a transport and a merchant cargo ship south of Japan; (2) USS Queenfish (SS-393) sinks a transport and a merchant passenger/cargo ship northwest of Babuyan, Luzon, Philippine Islands; and (3) USS Seal (SS-183) sinks an army cargo ship in the Sea of Okhotsk, north of Etorofu, Kurile Islands. In addition two auxiliary submarine chasers and a merchant cargo ship are sunk by mines.

Five USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators over the South China Sea claim four freighters sunk or heavily damaged.

BONIN ISLANDS: A US Seventh Air Force B-24 on a snooper mission from Saipan Island bombs Iwo Jima Island during the night of 9/10 September.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: 100+ US Far East Air Force fighter-bombers and A-20s pound airfields in the Moluccas Islands, i.e., Liang on Ambon Island, Haroekoe on Haroekoe Island, Boela on Ceram Island, and Namlea on Buru Island.

Carrier-based aircraft from the USN's Task Groups 38.1, 38.2 and 38.3 attack Japanese airfields, shipping and installations on Mindanao, in support of the upcoming invasion of the Palau Islands. Aircraft sink three transports and a cargo ship while light cruisers USS Birmingham (CL-62) and USS Santa Fe (CL-60) and four destroyers detached from Task Group 38.3 (Rear Admiral Laurance T. DuBose), covered by planes from the light aircraft carrier USS Langley (CVL-27), demolish a coastal convoy consisting of predominantly small ships and craft proceeding down the west coast of Mindanao

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Mapanget Airfield outside Menado on Celebes Island while Fifth and Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb the Kaoe Bay Seaplane Base on Halmahera Island. More than 100 A-20 Havocs and fighter-bombers attack Boela and Haroekoe and Boela Aerodromes on Ceram and Laha Aerodrome on Ambon.

U.S.A.: The "Great Atlantic Hurricane" ravages the East Coast. The storm kills 22 persons and causes US$63 million ($US656 million in year 2003 dollars) damage in the Chesapeake Bay area, then besieges New England killing 390 persons and causing another US$100 million (US$1.041 billion in year 2003 dollars) damage.

Destroyer USS Bordelon laid down.
Light cruiser USS Springfield commissioned.
Minesweeper USS Staunch commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: While tracking fast convoy ONF-252 (U.K. to North America) U-484 is sunk about 156 nautical miles west-northwest of Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in position 55.45N, 11.41W, by depth charges from the RN corvette HMS Porchester Castle (K 362) and the frigate HMS Helmsdale (K 253). All 52 crewmen on the U-boat are lost.

U-865 departs Trondheim, Norway today on its first patrol and is never heard from again. All 59 hands on the U-boat are lost.

JAPAN: Japanese officials in northern Japan surrender to the Allies at Ominato Naval Base on Honshu.

- In South Korea, surrender ceremonies are held in the Government Building in Seoul. The U.S. delegates are Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid and Lieutenant General John R. Hodge.

- In China, 20-minute surrender ceremonies are held in the auditorium of the Central Military Academy in Nanking at 0900 hours. General Ho Ying-chen, Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Army, and Lieutenant General Okamura Yasutsugu, Commander of the Japanese Forces in Central China, represent their respective governments.

EAST INDIES: The commander of Japanese Second Army, Lieutenant General TESHIMA Fusataro, surrenders to Australian Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey, Commander in Chief Allied Land Forces Southwest West Pacific Area and Commander in Chief Australian Military Force, on Morotai Island, Netherlands East Indies.

CANADA: Submarines HMS United and Upright departed Halifax for UK on completion of ASW training.

U.S.A.: A "computer bug" is first identified and named by USN Lieutenant Grace Murray Hopper. Although the term "bug" had been used to describe technical glitches since the late 1800s, the bug that plagued Hopper this day was an actual moth that had managed to get into the circuitry of the Mark II computer at Harvard University. The bug, which Hopper and her assistants removed with tweezers, was preserved at the Naval Museum in Dahlgren, Virginia.

In baseball, the legendary Jimmie Foxx of the Philadelphia Phillies hits his 534th and last home run. In 20 years with the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and the Phillies, he batted .325 and played in 2,317 games. Foxx retires after this season.

German PoW Reinhold Pabel escapes from Camp Washington, Iliinois. He is recaptured in Chicago in March 1953.