Yesterday            Tomorrow

1937   (THURSDAY)

U.S.A.: The USN commissions the light cruiser USS Philadelphia (CL-41) at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The USN now has 11 light cruisers in commission.

September 23rd, 1939 (SATURDAY)

England, Sigmund Freud, physiologist, medical doctor, psychologist and father of psychoanalysis, dies in London of cancer of the mouth and jaw at age 83.


GERMANY: Wireless sets (radios) are confiscated from all Jews.

U-201, U-202, U-203, U-204, U-251, U-252, U-253, U-254, U-255, U-331, U-332, U-333, U-334, U-371, U-372, U-373, U-374, U-401, U-402, U-403, U-404, U-431, U-432, U-433, U-434 ordered
U-54 commissioned.

POLAND: Warsaw: The dead lie unburied in the streets; houses topple; at midday the city is dark with dust and smoke; the Art Gallery and the French Embassy are on fire.

Meanwhile, there have been clashes between German and Russian forces as Germans in pursuit of fleeing Poles cross the demarcation line agreed between Molotov and von Ribbentrop. In one clash Germans fired on a Cossack unit, killing two. The Russians retaliated with a sabre charge killing 15 Germans before local commanders put a stop to the fighting. The Germans have had to hand over the city of Lwow to the Russians and their is much grumbling from the Germans at having to do all the fighting and then handing over the city to the Russians.

Hitler, still not happy with the Treaty is demanding that the province of Lublin be added to his share of Poland. Stallin, unwilling to clash with Germany, agrees. This means that Warsaw, originally to be divided between the two powers will now be wholly in German territory.

In the village of Pilica all the Jewish men are rounded up and taken to the marketplace where they were forced to shout in German: "We are all traitors of the people." They are then shot.

The Poles too are feeling the weight of German oppression. Any display of dissent brings instant, cruel retaliation from the conquerors. The Gestapo operates at night and in the morning posters give the names of those executed for carrying arms, for having insulted the Fuhrer or spoken ill of the Reich. This is the other side of Blitzkrieg. It is called Schrecklichkeit, meaning frightfulness.

JAPAN: Admiral Nomura Kichisaburo is appointed Foreign Minister in Prime Minister General Abe Nobuyuki's recently appointed Japanese government. This cabinet will hold office until January of 1940, and make some conciliatory moves towards the US which will not be reciprocated. This will strengthen the position of the more militant Japanese leaders. 

U.S.A.: Baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers third baseman Cookie Lavagetto goes 6 for 6 as the Dodgers get 27 hits and beat the Philadelphia Phillies 22-4.

Destroyer USS Rowan commissioned.

PANAMA: The Organization of American States agrees to a 300 mile neutral zone off the North and South American coasts.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-4 sank SS Walna.

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September 23rd, 1940 (MONDAY)

Battle of Britain:

RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. 10 Sqn. Whitley P4946 damaged by flak. Plt Off Bridson and crew unhurt. 77 Sqn. P5046:O Missing from Berlin and ditched in North Sea. Two men found in dinghy on 26th, one dead. Plt Off A.W. Dunn and Sgts D.A. Gibbons and B.L. Saville missing. Sgt D.B. Allen dead. Sgt G.H. Riley rescued injured. 77 Sqn. P4992:L belly landed at Appleton Yorks. Plt Off A.C. Akroyd-Stuart and crew safe.

Bombing - Calais docks - industrial targets at Berlin - ‘Razzling’.

10 Sqn. Three aircraft to Calais. All bombed.

51 Sqn. Nine aircraft to Berlin. Primary obscured, all bombed alternatives.

77 Sqn. Six aircraft to Berlin. One returned early, rest bombed with good results. One ditched on return, one man rescued.

78 Sqn. Nine aircraft to Berlin. Seven bombed primary, two bombed alternatives at Wismar and Hamburg.

RAF Fighter Command: The weather is fine today and during the day the Luftwaffe flew fighter sweeps towards London. A major attack by some 200 Luftwaffe aircraft developed over East Kent, the Estuary and South Essex at 0930 hours. It is broken up by RAF fighters and the London area is not penetrated. At about 1730 hours a second attack of lesser importance and covering a more restricted area, involving about 100 German aircraft, took place in East Kent. Reconnaissance activity is on a minor scale and is confined to the East Anglian Coast and Southwards to Cornwall. In the East between 1030 and 1300 hours reconnaissance flights are made off the East Anglian Coast. In the South East between 0600 and 0900 hours three reconnaissances are made in the North Foreland - Dungeness area. At 0926 hours a formation numbering 100 Luftwaffe aircraft crossed the coast at Dover. This is joined at 0941 by three other raids totalling 80 German aircraft. At 0935 hours a section of nine aircraft detached itself from the main body and flew West along the South Coast to Hastings. The remainder spread out from Dover towards Maidstone and over the Estuary into Essex. At about 1015 hours a formation of 12 Luftwaffe aircraft came out from Dunkirk, France, heading for the North Foreland but turned southwest joining other Luftwaffe aircraft leaving Rye. None of the above raids entered the London area. Twenty-four RAF fighter squadrons are detailed to the attack and casualties are inflicted. At 1330 hours a RAF Anson spotting for big guns firing from Dover and escorted by two Spitfires, is attacked by nine Bf 109s. The Anson is compelled to land, but the Spitfires shot down one Bf109 and damaged another. At 1730 hours 40 German aircraft flew to the North Foreland, turned into the Estuary, crossed inland at Sheppey and flew South to Rye. At about the same time 55 aircraft crossed the coast between Folkestone and Dover. The attack lasted for only a short time and is confined to the area East of a line Sheppey - Rye. Twelve RAF fighter squadrons are detailed to the attack, but no casualties on either side are reported. At 1930 hours two raids by single aircraft flew to Northolt from Beachy Head, recrossing the coast at Shoreham. In the South between 0900 and 1030 hours four tracks are plotted in the Devon - Cornwall area flying North. At 1300 hours reconnaissances are made in the Isle of Wight area Eastwards, including a single aircraft reported to have been active in the Beachy Head area. At 1605 hours a reconnaissance by one aircraft is made over Portsmouth. In the English Channel and Straits in the early morning and again between 1300 and 1700 hours considerable activity took place off the French Coast and as far North as the Dutch Islands.

CANADA: The second group of eight "overage" USN destroyers to be turned over to the RN in exchange for bases in the Western Hemisphere are transferred to RN crews at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

USS Abbot (DD-184), commissioned as HMS Charlestown (I-21), USS Foote (DD-169), commissioned as HMS Roxborough (I-07), USS Hopewell (DD-181), commissioned as HMS Bath (I-17), and USS Doran (DD-185), commissioned as HMS St Marys ( I-12), USS Maddox (DD-168), commissioned as HMS Georgetown (I-40), USS Thomas (DD-182), commissioned as HMS St Albans (I-15), and USS Kalk (DD-170), commissioned as HMCS Hamilton (I-24), as part of the destroyers-for-bases deal. (Ron Babuka)

Armed yacht HMCS Elk arrived Bermuda and assigned America and West Indies Station.

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September 23rd, 1941 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: London: General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French, today announced at a press conference here the setting up of a "national committee". He said that it would be up to the United States and other countries to recognize the committee as his country's government in exile, rather than the German-backed Vichy regime.

In fact, de Gaulle retains all authority and merely consults his nine commissioners, who include Admiral Muselier for the navy, Maurice Dejean, a former diplomat, for foreign affairs and Herve Alphand for the economy. Most colourful is Thierry d'Argenlieu, a former naval captain who spent several years a Trappist monk and escaped to England in a small boat disguised as a Norman fisherman. 

Minesweeper HMS Nettle launched.

FRANCE: German troops are ordered to send their blankets to their eastern front colleagues.

Paris: The three-day curfew imposed on Paris by the military governor, General Stülpnagel, has now been lifted. He had  imposed draconian measures after a spate of attempts by the Resistance to assassinate members of the German occupation forces. Travel has been banned between 9pm and 5am and places of entertainment have been forced to close at 8pm.

Those arrested for breaking the curfew are treated as hostages to prevent any further resistance. Last week, the Germans murdered 22 hostages in reprisal for crimes which included the attempted assassination of a Wehrmacht captain.

GERMANY: U-118, U-409 launched.
U-634 laid down.

U.S.S.R.: German soldiers massacre the population of Krasnaya Gora after partisans kill three German sentries.

Soviet submarine M-74 of the Baltic Fleet is sunk by German air attack at Kronstadt. (Mike Yared)(146 and 147)

Stuka-ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel delivers the striking blow to the Soviet battleship Marat on this date. His gunner reported back to Rudel seconds after he released the bomb that the "ship is blowing up, you got her". The 1000kg bomb fell down the "steamtower" and exploded inside the ship. Rudel thus also destroyed a battleship in addition to the hundreds of tanks he hit in the war.

AUSTRALIA: Minesweeper HMAS Warrambool commissioned.

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Georgian commissioned.

NEWFOUNDLAND: Depot ship HMCS Avalon II (ex Georgian) (Lakeways Lines Steamer, Great Lakes passenger service) hired St. John's, requisitioned for use in St John's, as the base facilities there were rudimentary. She was used as an administrative and accommodations facility to support minor warships until the end of the war. Purchased May 42, Laid up Mar 46, later sold.

U.S.A.:  President Roosevelt announces that the arming of merchant shipping is under consideration. The concern about possible German attacks has pushed this issue to the front.

The USN's South Dakota Class battleship Massachusetts (BB-59) is launched at the Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Massachusetts. (Marc Small)

Destroyer USS Macomb launched.

ARGENTINA: The following message is sent from the Japanese Embassy in Buenos Aires to the Japanese Embassy in Panama: “When (Japanese) Minister (to Chile) YAMAGATA was in Panama he was asked by the Italian Minister there to deliver some maps and charts of the Panama Canal Zone for him, which he did. Since then, we had USUI go to Chile to take charge of those maps and upon their arrival here they are delivered to the Italian Ambassador. At the same time, we requested that we be given copies of them.”

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-68 inspected the Spanish tanker Gobeo.
U-107 made contact with Convoy SL-87 which was attacked the following day.

Cutter HMS Lulworth picks up 42 survivors from the SS Niceto de Larrinaga, that was sunk yesterday.

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September 23rd, 1942 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Major General James Harold Doolittle assumes command of the US Twelfth Air Force. 

USAAF  336th Fighter Squadron transferred to a satellite base, Great Sampford, Essex.

RAF No. 85 Squadron gives up its Douglas Havoc I night fighters. (22)

Destroyer HMS Wrangler laid down.

Submarine HMS Tudor launched.

Corvettes HMCS Louisburg and Woodstock arrived Humber from Convoy HX-207 for refit and fitting with extra Anti-Aircraft armament.

NETHERLANDS: Three RAF Bomber Command bombers lay mines in the Frisian Islands.

FRANCE: RAF Bomber Command aircraft laid mines off three ports: five aircraft laid mines off St. Nazaire, three off Lorient and two off La Pallice.

GERMANY: Thousands of German parents are today marking an unhappy anniversary in the lives of their children: two years ago today a decree by Adolf Hitler increased the power of the authorities to order the evacuation of city children to youth camps in the countryside. Paramilitary exercises form part of the daily routine in the camps, which are run by the Hitler Youth organization to indoctrinate young children in the ways of National Socialism. Thousands of young people are now spending several weeks a year away from home - and from their parents' influence - on "holidays" of this kind in school camps or youth hostels.

During this prolonged period of bad weather, RAF Bomber Command sent out three small raids without Pathfinders on the night of 23/24 September. The first is to Wismar with 83 Lancasters dispatched; 54 bombed the target. This is judged to be a successful attack on the Baltic coastal town and the nearby Dornier aircraft factory. Many crews came down to less than 2,000 feet (610 meters). Numerous fires are seen including a large one in what is believed to be the aircraft factory. Wismar reports 32 houses and eight industrial buildings seriously damaged, 67 people killed and 109 injured. Four Lancasters are lost. The second raid is to the U-boat shipyards at Flensburg with 28 Halifaxes dispatched; 21 bombed the target. Five aircraft are lost. The third target is Vegesack with 24 Stirlings dispatched; five bombed the target with the loss of one. Other targets bombed by one or two aircraft are Ardorf Airfield, Bremen, Kiel, Lubeck, Oldenburg and Wihelmshaven. Three other RAF aircraft laid mines in the Heligoland Bight with the loss of one aircraft.

At 0605hrs a man was lost overboard from U-177. [Bootsmannmaat Erwin Henning]

U-534 launched.
U-271 commissioned.

DENMARK: One RAF Bomber Command aircraft laid mines in the Little Belt, the strait between the Danish island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula.

U.S.S.R.: German Army Group B continues to make slow progress in Stalingrad against bitter opposition. Army Group A assembles an assault force for a drive on the Black Sea port of Tuapse. The Soviets begin a counterattack in the Orlovka district of northwestern Stalingrad. Stiff resistance by the Germans allows this 3 day attack to make slight gains. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)
 

Wendell Willkie, 1940 U.S. Republican presidential candidate, confers with Stalin and calls for a second front at the earliest possible moment.

Wendell Wilkie left from Mitchell Field, Hempstead, Long Island, New York, on 26 August 1942 on a 50-day trip around the world to more than a dozen countries. This trip included stops at battle zones in Africa, the Soviet Union and China, which he reported on in a radio speech to the nation soon after he returned and in a best-selling book, "One World", published in 1943.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA:U-561 was forced to return to her base in the Mediterranean due to technical problems .

LIBYA: A He-111 leaves North Africa for Germany, with Field Marshal Rommel. He is going home for medical treatment. General  der Panzertruppe Georg Stumme takes temporary command in Africa. General von Thoma is in command of the DAK under the command of Panzer Army Africa. Rommel's own choice of Heinze Guderian is ignored.

MADAGASCAR: Tananarive, the capitol, is declared an open city and falls to the British troops of the East African 22d Brigade.

NEW GUINEA: Australian General Thomas Blamey arrives in Port Moresby to take direct command of the New Guinea forces. Australian Lieutenant General Edmund F. Herring becomes commander, Advance New Guinea Force, succeeding Australian Major General Sidney F Rowell. Despite his position Blamey came into conflict with his commander, General Douglas MacArthur, who has become Australian Prime Minister Curtin's principle military advisor. United States forces were kept out of the Australian land commanders hands throughout the war in the Pacific but one historian wrote that Blamey's career was marked by “year upon year of wise decisions, stubborn determination to further the interests of Australia, and a deep concern for the well-being of his soldiers." 
     On the Kokoda Track, the Australian 14th Field Regiment, Maroubra Force, continues bombarding the enemy. Intelligence estimates that there are 600 Japanese west of Ioribaiwa. 
     The 128th Infantry of the U.S. 32d Infantry Division reaches Port Moresby by air and  is assigned to garrison force under operational control of Australian 6th Infantry Division. 
     In the air, USAAF Fifth Air Force P-40s, P-39s, P-400s, and B-17s hit tanks, buildings, and airfield at Buna, Wairopi bridge and targets of opportunity on the Buna-Kokoda trail, and Tau-Pota Mission near Goodenough Bay. 

PORTUGUESE TIMOR: The reinforcements for Sparrow Force arrive at Betano Bay at 17.45 hrs. Captain Robinson orders Voyager to within 500 yards of the beach, and after anchoring orders the eight army barges hoisted away. The whaler is also lowered and soundings taken around the ship as no chart exists for these waters. Voyager was soon in trouble and at risk of going aground, the captain knew of this possibility and had planned for it but he had to go astern on the port engine and there were at that moment two army barges directly over that propeller, the ship soon went aground aft. (William L. Howard)(188, 189, 190, 191)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Guadalcanal, the 1st Marine Division begins a limited operation to the west of the Lunga perimeter to eliminate the enemy within striking distance of Henderson Field: the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, is directed to advance along the northern slopes of Mt Austen, cross the Matamkau River, and push west to Kokumbona; the 1st Raider Battalion is to establish a patrol base at Kokumbona at a point where the inland trails intersect the coastal road. 
     Five SBD Dauntlesses of Marine Scout Bombing Squadron One Hundred Forty One (VMSB-141) arrives at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. These are the first aircraft from Marine Air Group Fourteen (MAG-14) to serve on the island; reinforcements will arrive in small increments until the entire squadron arrives on 6 October. 

ENTRECASTEAUX ISLANDS: Troops of the Australian 2/10th Battalion, 18th Brigade find only eight Japanese on Normanby Island. They are taken prisoner and the Australians board the Australian destroyer HMAS Stuart (D 00) and return to Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. The D’Entrecasteaux Islands are located about 10 miles (16 kilometers) across Goschen Strait from the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea, in the Solomon Sea.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-255 was attacked by Catalina U from 210 RAF Squadron in AE 25. She was so heavily damaged by two depth charges that she had to return to base.
U-505 was attacked by the freighter Antonius with gunfire. The boat crash dived.

U-125 sank SS Bruyère.
U-211 sank SS Esso Williamsburg.
U-515 sank SS Henke Lindvangen and damaged SS Henke Antinous.
U-582 sank SS Vibran in Convoy ON-131.
U-617 sank SS Athelsultan and SS Tennessee in Convoy SC-100.

TERRITORY OF HAWAII: The movement of the 72d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) to the South Pacific Area on 18 September, plus subsequent movement of other squadrons of the 5th Bombardment Group (Heavy) to the SOPAC, makes it difficult for the US Seventh Air Force to maintain the minimum force of 35 heavy bombers considered necessary for the defence of the Hawaiian Islands; this situation is relieved by 90th Bombardment Group (Heavy), which stops in Hawaii while en route to the Southwest Pacific, and by the 307th Bombardment Group (Heavy), which is assigned to the Seventh Air Force for a time.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Weather causes a US Eleventh Air Force mission abort to Kiska Island; photo reconnaissance over Attu Island confirms it's abandonment by the enemy; aUSNPBY Catalina escorted by 2 P-38 Lightnings lands off Amchitka Island with a scouting party which determines that the island is unsuited as an airfield; the P-38s also bomb a radio shack and sink a submarine at Amchitka Island.

U.S.A.: Washington: At a meeting in the office of Henry Stimson, the secretary of war, today it was decided to put the armed forces in charge of plans for a new secret weapon - the "atomic bomb.

The essence of the decision was that the scientists, who were led by Dr. Vannevar Bush, a former vice-president of Massuchusetts Institute of Technology, dropped their objections to work on the atomic bomb being carried out by the military. In return, the military agreed to give the bomb top priority.

Colonel Leslie Groves, promoted to brigadier-general today, has been made "managing director" of the project, and left the meeting to go to Tennessee to inspect a site for a gigantic secret atomic "factory".

President Roosevelt was warned in October 1939 by emigre European scientists, led by Albert Einstein, that if the USA did not build an atomic bomb the Nazis might do so first. Earlier this month an American army officer quietly arranged to secure for the US the entire output of the Shinkolobwe mine in the Belgian Congo, the world's biggest source of the metal uranium, needed to make the atomic bomb.

Told of his assignment, Colonel Groves said that he would rather go overseas. "If you do the job right," he was told by his superior, "it will win the war."

Baseball, Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, Larry French of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitches a brilliant one-hitter, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 6-0 for his 197th career win. After a brief relief stint on 26 September, he joins the U.S. Navy, and rises through the ranks retiring as a captain in 1969.
   Larry MacPhail, the 52-year-old Brooklyn Dodger president, also announces today that he is quitting at the end of the season to reenter the army.

Destroyer USS Troubridge launched.

Aircraft carrier USS Lexington launched.

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September 23rd, 1943 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: London: Ten million of Britain's taxpayers are included in the new pay-as-you-earn plan announced tonight. It will cover weekly wage-earners, and employers will act as tax collectors. There will be no change for salaried employees paid monthly. They will continue to pay twice-yearly lump sums in tax on the income of the previous year. Everyone on PAYE will have a code number telling employers how much tax to deduct. The working classes are now seen as permanently within the income-tax range.

Corvette HMCS Leaside (ex HMS Walmer Castle) laid down South Bank-on-Tees.

FRANCE: Free French forces occupy Bonifaccio, Corsica. They now control more than half of the island.

Nantes: In USAAF raids on 16 September and today, 1,150 civilians have been killed.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force’s VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 100 against three targets: (1) 46 B-17s bomb the Nantes port area at 0813-0818 hours; they claim 22-1-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; (2) 55 B-17s hit Meucon Airfield at Vannes between 0825-0826 hours; and (3)  53 63 B-17s hit Bastard Airfield at Kerlin between 0814-0818 hours claiming 2-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost. 
     In the afternoon, the VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 101: 61 B-17s bomb the port area at Nantes at 1810-1815 and 19 bomb St Jacques Airfield at Rennes at 1834 hours; 2 B-17s are lost. 

     During the night of 23/24 September, 25 RAF Bomber Command aircraft drop leaflets over France with the loss of one aircraft.

GERMANY: The USAAF Eighth Air Force’s VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 102: 4 B-17s of the 422d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 305th Bombardment Group (Heavy), bomb Mannheim between 2211 and 2222 hours with the RAF in a night attack. 

During the night of 23/24 September, RAF Bomber Command sends 628 aircraft, 312 Lancasters, 193 Halifaxes, 115 Stirlings, eight Mosquitos and five USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses to bomb Manheim; 571 bomb the target. Thirty two aircraft, 18 Lancasters, seven Halifaxes and seven Wellingtons, are lost, 5.1 per cent of the force. The Pathfinder plan worked well and concentrated bombing fell on the intended area, although later stages of the raid crept back across the northern edge of Ludwigshafen and out into the open country. Twenty one Lancasters and eight Mosquitos carried out a diversionary raid on Darmstadt without loss; all 29 aircraft bombed the target. The diversionary purpose of this raid is not achieved because Darmstadt is too close to Mannheim and the German night fighters could see the main attack only 20 miles (32 kilometers) away quite clearly. But the small force of bombers caused much damage in this university town which had little industry and which had not been seriously bombed before. The third attack tonight is by six Mosquitos which bombed Aachen without loss.

 German minesweeper M-343 collided with U-962 in Danish waters causing some damage to the U-boat.

U-247 launched.
U-997 and U-1192 commissioned.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet forces recapture Poltava in the Ukraine and push toward Kremenchug.

ITALY: Three British sergeants were sentenced to death by firing squad, and 189 corporals and other ranks were given long prison sentences, for mutiny after the Salerno landings, it was revealed here today. The men, from the 51st Highland Division and the 50th (Northumbrian) Division, all of whom were wounded in North Africa, had been rushed to the beach-head without proper orders. In the past their divisional commanders had said that they could insist on their right to rejoin their old battalions, so they refused to join the English country regiments. The sentences were suspended when the men agreed to fight with the new units.

The U.S. Fifth Army begins a general advance. The British X Corps, making the main effort, attacks toward the Nocera-Pagani Pass on the left with the 46th Division; the 56th Division drives northward on the Salerno-San Severino road but firm enemy opposition makes progress slow. In the U.S. VI Corps area, the 3d and 45th Infantry Divisions continue northward, hampered more by extensive demolitions than by the enemy. Engineers are playing an important role in keeping routes of advance open. The British Eighth Army drives the enemy from Altamura. 
     In the air, USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-26s bomb bridges at Cancello Arnone and 3 miles (4,8 km) northeast of Capua; light bombers and fighter-bombers attack motor transport, roads, railroads, town areas, gun positions, and targets of opportunity in the areas of San Severino Rota, Avellino, Sarno, Torre Annunziata, Aversa, Nocera, Resina, Serino, Pompeii, and Camarella. 
     Benito Mussolini announces the "Italian Social Republic." This puppet government will showcase control of Northern Italy for the Germans.  (John Nicholas)

     During the night of 23/24 September, aircraft of RAF No. 205 Group bomb two targets in Pisa: 21 bombed San Guisto Airfield and 39 hit a marshalling yard. Meanwhile, two aircraft dropped leaflets over Milan.

Naples: Retreating German troops wreck the port and sink Italian shipping.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: In the Dodecanese Islands, the 2,428 ton Italian transport MV Gaetano Donizetti, taken over by the Germans, takes off 1,576 Italian POWs. The POWs are mostly sailors and airmen from the Garrison of Rhodes. While southwest of Rhodes, the Donizetti is attacked by the British destroyer Eclipse (H 08), is severely damaged, capsized and sunk taking all aboard with her.

NEW GUINEA: The Australian 20th Brigade advances south and reaches Japanese defensive positions on the River Bumi. They are heading for Finschhafen. They also capture a satellite airfield.

US Fifth Air Force B-25s bomb and strafe villages in the upper Markham River Valley.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force P-40s bomb Gasmata Island off New Britain Island. 

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Twenty three USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24s, 16 P-38s, and 60+USNand USMC SBD Dauntlesses, covered by USAAF, USMC, USN, and RNZAF fighters, attack Kahili Airfield on Bougainville Island; Allied aircraft claim at least 9 fighters shot down. 21 B-24s bomb area from Stanmore Plantation to the mouth of the Vila River on Kolombangara Island. P-39s strafe 2 barges, at Sasamunga and Malanono, leaving both aflame. 

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Admiral Thomas C Kinkaid issues Operations Plan (Op Plan) 9-43 which reorganizes the Alaskan Army and Navy air strength. The Commanding General Eleventh Air Force becomes Commander of Task Force 90 (TF 90), composed of Task Group 90.1 (TG 90.1), designated the Air Striking Unit (comprising 16 medium bombers, 12 heavy bombers, 100 fighters) and of TG 90.2, designated the Air Search Group, a Navy air arm. For operations, the Eleventh Air Force is now under the jurisdiction of Commander Northern Pacific (COMNORPAC) Forces. There is no administrative change.

CANADA: 48-ft harbor patrol craft ordered for RCN: HMC HPC 29, HPC 30 and HPC 31
46-ft harbor patrol craft orderered for RCN: HMC HC 268, HC 269, HC 270, HC 271, HC 272, HC 283 and HC 274
Frigate HMCS Glace Bay (ex HMCS Lauzon) laid down Levis, Province of Quebec.

U.S.A.: 

Continental US: Submarine USS Brill laid down.

Escort carrier USS Commencement Bay laid down.

Destroyer escorts USS Eisner and Garfield Thomas laid down.

Destroyer escort USS Rall launched.

Destroyer escorts USS Joseph E Campbell, Micka and Pettit commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Corvette HMCS Morden attacked by U-666 Oblt Herbert ENGEL CO, first Gnat exploded in MORDEN's wake, second Gnat hit frigate HMS Itchen at 2355hrs south of Greenland, 53-25N 39-42W.

U-238 sank SS Fort Jemseg, Oregon Express and Skjelbred in Convoy ON-202.

U-952 damaged SS James Gordon Bennett and sank SS Steel Voyager in Convoy ON-202.
U-422 was attacked by a Liberator aircraft from 10 RAF Squadron. A few crewmembers were wounded and the boat was damaged.
U-601 and U-960 laid a mine barrier off Port Dikson.

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September 23rd, 1944 (SATURDAY)

BELGIUM: Canadian units cross the Escaut canal during their advance to clear the north bank of the Scheldt.

NETHERLANDS: The fighting in Arnhem continues between the Allied paratroops and the Germans. The British XXX Corps continues attacks in its attempts to advance.

559 US Eighth Air Force P-38 Lightnings, P-47s and P-51s bomb and strafe flak positions and other ground targets in 2 landing zones in the Nijmegen, the Netherlands area, immediately preceding the arrival of the remainder of the US 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions and the Polish 1st Brigade; the P-38s are flown by Eighth and Ninth Air Force units; they engage 150+ Luftwaffe fighters; USAAF claims 27-2-6 aircraft in the air; 4 P-47s and 10 P-51s are lost. 

     During the day, RAF Bomber Command sent 50 aircraft, 34 Halifaxes, ten Mosquitos and six Lancasters, to bomb coastal batteries at Domburg; 49 bombed the target without loss. One particularly large explosion is seen.

FRANCE: Versailles: with two million men now under his command, Eisenhower is moving his HQ forward to Versailles. The US Seventh Army which landed on the Riviera last month, has linked up with Patton's Third Army; the Allied front now runs in an unbroken line from the Swiss frontier to the Channel. Since D-Day, the Germans in the west have lost upwards of a million men, half of them prisoners.

Under pressure from Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsey, the naval C-in-C, Eisenhower is giving top priority to clearing the Scheldt estuary of enemy forces and bringing Antwerp's port into use. The task will be assigned to the Canadians.

As Allied forces begin pushing into Germany itself, resistance is stiffening, though there are signs of divisions between regular German forces and fanatical SS units. When US troops yesterday entered Stolberg, a small town about 40 miles west of Cologne, the mayor offered to help the Americans in locating pockets of resistance. Two German officers appeared with a white flag and said they wished to surrender their platoon. SS units came up and put a stop to that. Deserters are a growing problem. The CO of the German 18th Panzergrenadier Division has issued an order which says that the families of "these bastards who have given away important military secrets" will have to atone for their treason.

In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, 7th Armored Division drops plans for crossing the Seille River upon receiving orders to join XIX Corps of the First Army. 1st Battalion of the 10th Infantry, 5th Infantry Division, relieves the weakened 2d Battalion at Pournoy-la-Chetive, during the night of 23/24 September. Combat Command R, 6th Armored Division, is attached to corps as mobile reserve and moves to the Jarny area on 24th.

In the U.S. Third Army's XII Corps area, the 80th Infantry Division extends eastward in the center and on the right as the Germans withdraw, but the enemy retains the hill mass east of Serrieres. The 35th Infantry Division clears Bois de Faulx of enemy rear guards, capturing many. The 4th Armored Division rests after its lively tank battles. In the XV Corps area, the 79th Infantry Division clears Foret de Mondon, the 3d Battalion of the 314th Infantry suffering heavy casualties during frontal assaults. A French patrol crosses the La Vezouse River and takes Domjevin but the Germans restore positions along the river. After nightfall, the final enemy remnants fall back across the river to organize a  new defence line. 

     In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, the 157th Infantry, 45th Infantry Division, is unable to expand its bridgehead toward Girmont; the 179th Infantry takes Mossoux and cuts the road leading northwest from there; the 180th Infantry clears that part of Epinal west of the Moselle River and crosses at 3 points near there. The 36th Infantry Division's 42d Infantry finishes clearing Remiremont and begins crossing the Moselle; other elements of the division are pushing northward. The 7th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division, reaches the Moselle across from Rupt and about midnight begins crossing over a bridge, which is found to be intact. 

     In the French 1st Army area, General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny revises his plan of attack as a result of Lieutenant General Lucian K Truscott's decision to make the main effort with the U.S. Seventh Army while French forces provide flank protection. He calls for an offensive limited in strength to one combat command of the French 1st Armored Division and one regimental combat team of the French 1st Infantry Division. The armor is to attack on an axis Melisey-Le Thillot; the infantry is to conduct diversionary attacks. 
     In the air, 162 USAAF Eighth Air Force B-24s fly a TRUCKIN' mission to France delivering fuel. 
     USAAF Ninth Air Force fighters support the US Third Army in the Chateau-Salins area. 

U-267 was the last one to leave the U-boat base at St. Nazaire, France (U-255 remained and eventually surrendered there in May, 1945). She arrived on 29 Oct at Stavanger, Norway.
 

GERMANY: USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26s and A-20s sent against targets in are recalled due to weather; fighters support the US First Army in western Germany, escort bombers (recalled), and fly armed reconnaissance over wide areas. 

The 78th Fighter Group using P-47Ds will receive a Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions over the last six days, covered troop carrier and bombardment operations and carried out strafing and dive-bombing missions during Operation Market-Garden.

     During the night of 23/24 September, RAF Bomber Command sent 549 aircraft, 378 Lancasters, 154 Halifaxes and 17 Mosquitos, to bomb Neuss; 492 aircraft bombed the target with the loss of five Lancasters and two Halifaxes. Bomber Command's report states that most of the bombing fell in the dock and factory areas. In a second raid, 136 Lancasters and five Mosquitos are sent to bomb the banks of the two parallel branches of the Dortmund-Ems canal at a point near Ladbergen, north of Münster, where the level of the canal water is well above the level of the surrounding land. Ninety nine aircraft bombed the Munster Aqueducts with the loss of 14 Lancasters, more than 10 per cent of the Lancaster force. Despite the presence of 7/10ths cloud in the target area, breaches are made in the banks of both branches of the canal and a 6-mile (9,7 kilometer) stretch of it is drained. Most of this damage is caused by two direct hits by 12,000 pound (5 543 kilogram) Tallboy bombs dropped by aircraft of No 617 Squadron at the opening of the raid. In a third raid, 113 aircraft, 107 Lancasters, five Mosquitos and a Lightning, carried out a supporting raid on Handorf Airfield the local German night-fighter airfield just outside Münster; one Lancaster is lost. No photographic reconnaissance flight is carried out after this raid. Sixty five aircraft also bombed Münster itself; the town records 100 high-explosive bombs but no fatal casualties. Two other raids are flown by Mosquitos, 42 bombing Bochum and six bombing the Rheine marshalling yard.

In the Baltic Sea a man was washed overboard from U-370. [Matrosengefreiter Erwin Stiegeler].

U-979 was rammed slightly by a convoy escort in naval grid AE 57, suffering damage to her periscope.

U-1065, U-3504 commissioned.

U-957 sank Brilliant 29 in Convoy VD-1.

AUSTRIA:  Ten USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17s, escorted by P-38s and P-51s bomb the marshalling yard at Wels. 

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: 130 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17s, escorted by P-38s and P-51s bomb the synthetic oil refinery at Brux.  Four bombed visually and 126 used h2X radar.

229 B-24s attack communications targets in Italy, including a viaduct at Venzone and road and railroad bridges at Casarsa della Delizia, Pinzano al Tagliamento, Ponte di Piave, Latisana, San Dona di Piave, and Susegana.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS: Although several missions are aborted because of bad weather in Italy, US Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack several railroad bridges in the Po River Valley; fighter-bombers hit guns and rail and road targets in the battle area as the US Fifth Army pushes on through the Gothic Line defenses.

ROMANIA:  Soviet troops reach the Hungarian border after capturing Arad.  (John Nicholas)

ESTONIA: Soviet Army troops reach the Gulf of Riga at Paernu. 

GREECE: The British Special Boat Squadron, Mediterranean, is dropped on Araxos, on the northwest coast of the Peloponnesus Peninsula, to seize an airfield, from which retreating enemy can be harassed, and to occupy Patras. 

ITALY: The US 5th Army north of Florence attacks the Futa Pass through the Appennines Mountains.
In the U.S. Fifth Army's II Corps area, the 34th Infantry Division, with the capture of Montepiano by the 133d infantry, is through the Gothic Line. The 91st Infantry Division rests in preparation for its next task--clearing Mt. Oggiolo, west of the Radicosa Pass. The 338th Infantry, 85th Infantry Division, pushes slowly northward from Mt Coloreta; The 337th Infantry, replacing the 338th in the line, takes the western part of Mt la Fine. The 88th Infantry Division, committing the 351st Infantry between the 349th and 350th, reaches a line Mt la Fine-Mt della Croce. In the British 13 Corps area, the 1st Division occupies Poggio Cavalmagra and pushes on toward Palazzuolo on the left and Marradi on the river. The Indian 8th Division occupies Mt Villanova. 
     In the British Eighth Army area, 5 Corps is vigorously engaged with the enemy north of the Marecchia River on a delaying line San Arcangelo-Poggio Berni-Montebello. The Canadian I Corps continues to pursue the enemy toward the Uso River. The 5th Armored Division takes responsibility for the left flank of the corps, releasing the British 4th Division for reserve. 
     In the air, several missions are aborted by bad weather but USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack several railroad bridges in the Po River Valley; fighter-bombers hit guns and rail
and road targets in the battle area. 
     In the air, 229 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack communications targets including a viaduct at Venzone and road and railroad bridges at Casarsa della Delizia, Pinzano al Tagliamento, Ponte di Piave, Latisana, San Dona di Piave, and Susegana. 

INDIAN OCEAN: U-859 (German) unknown depth Torpedoed on surface; 20 survivors, unknown number self escape with Drager gear, PoWs. (Mark Horan)

CHINA: Major General Patrick J Hurley sends a report to President Franklin D Roosevelt on telling him of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek’s reaction to his (Roosevelt's) message of 19 September. 
     On the Salween front, the Japanese send a rescue column to extricate the garrison at Pingka. 
     In the air, 19 USAAF Tenth Air Force B-24s fly fuel to Liuchow while two others deliver fuel to Kunming. 
     Fifteen USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24s bomb the Burma Road in the Chefang area; 36 B-25s hit Chuanhsien and targets of opportunity in surrounding areas; 6 B-25s bomb Kuanyang, 5 hit Yungming, 12 bomb Lungling, and 2 knock out a bridge near Jinyang; 2 B-24s bomb docks at Amoy; 90+ P-40s and P-51s hit numerous targets of opportunity throughout southeastern China concentrating on Japanese troops in the Chuanhsien area and various targets around Jungyun, Yuankiang, Yungming, Lingling, and Hsuchang. 

THAILAND: Six USAAF  Fourteenth Air Force B-25s damage Dara bridge. 

BURMA: 19 US Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts attack bridges along a line Wanling-Bhamo-Myitkyina destroying 1 bridge; 6 B-25s hit bridges south of Meza, destroying 1 and extensively damaging several others.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC: The German submarine U-859 is sunk near Penang in the Straits of Malacca, in position 05.46N, 100.04E, by torpedoes from the RN submarine HMS Trenchant (P 331); 20 of the 67 crewmen survive. Escaping at an unknown depth an unknown number self escape with Drager gear, the 20 survivors become PoWs. (Jack McKillop and Mark Horan)

 

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES:  On Morotai, work is begun on another airfield, named Pitoe Drome, about 1,200 yards (1097 meters) north of Wama Drome. 
     In the air, during night and day raids USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24s and B-25s concentrate on Sidate and Mapanget Airfields on Celebes Island while P-47s pound Kaoe Airfield on Halmahera Island. 

NEW GUINEA: At Allied headquarters in Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea, U.S. Lieutenant General Stephen J. Chamberlin, Deputy Chief of Staff South West Pacific Area, tells Australian Lieutenant General Sir Frank Horton Berryman, General Officer Commanding I Australian Corps, that for planning purposes, the roles of I Australian Corps are (1) Aparri, Philippine Islands, with an earliest date of 20-30 December 1944; (2) Sarangani, Philippine Islands after Lingayen Gulf; and (3) after Sarangani an advance down the west coast of Borneo with Java as an ultimate objective.

In the air, USAAF Far East Air Forces P-47s and P-40s bomb AA guns at Manokwari, Moemi, and Ransiki Airfields. 

CAROLINE ISLANDS: PALAU ISLANDS:  On Peleliu, Regimental Combat Team 321 of the 81st Infantry Division arrives from Angaur and is attached to the 1st Marine Division. After relieving the 1st Marines on the left flank just north of the third phase line, north of the village of Ngarekeukl, RCT 321 reconnoiters along the coast to Garekoru, near the fourth phase line, without difficulty. Efforts to make a general advance northward, however, fail because of intense fire from the center ridges. The 7th Marines has the task of supporting the drive of the infantry. 
     On Angaur, the 322d Infantry again drives into the Lake Salome bowl from south but pulls back again when forward positions become untenable. 
 

BONIN ISLANDS: Fifteen USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24s from Saipan bomb Chichi Jima, Haha Jima, and Ani Jima. 

MARCUS ISLAND: Two USAAF B-24s on armed reconnaissance bomb the island.

WAKE ISLAND: During the night of 23/24 September, a USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24s from Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, bombs the island. 
 

MARIANA ISLANDS: A USAAF Seventh Air Force on a training mission bombs Pagan Island. 

TERRITORY OF HAWAII: The battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48) reaches Pearl Harbor and rejoins the Pacific Fleet, marking the end of the salvage and reconstruction of 18 ships damaged at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.

CANADA: Tug HMCS Glenbrook launched Owen Sound, Ontario.
Tug HMCS Glenbrook launched Owen Sound, Ontario.
Frigate HMCS Glace Bay arrived Halifax from builder Quebec City, Province of Quebec.
Corvette HMCS Lunenburg departed Londonderry for refit Saint John, New Brunswick.
Frigate HMCS Wetaskiwin departed Londonderry to join Convoy EG W-7.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "Arsenic and Old Lace" is released today. This comedy, based on the play by Frank Kesselring, is directed by Frank Capra and stars Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Jack Carson, Edward Everett Horton, Peter Lorre, James Gleason, Josephine Hull and Jean Adair. The plot has Grant discovering that his kindly old aunts (Hull and Adair) and his sinister brother (Massey) are all serial killers, and tries to sort it out fast so he can go on his honeymoon with Lane.

Destroyer USS Furse laid down.
Submarines USS Boarfish and Charr commissioned.

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September 23rd, 1945 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: No. 110 Wing RAF Transport Command carries its 100,000th passenger.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet submarine L-19 sinks in La Perouse. (Mike Yared)(146 and 147)

EGYPT: The Egyptian government demands that Britain revise the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936. The Egyptians call for an end of the British military occupation of Egypt and the transfer of Sudan to full Egyptian control.

JAPAN: Yokohama: The US 97th Infantry Division arrives to begin occupation duty.

U.S.A.: Minesweeper USS Gayety commissioned.

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