2 October 1939

1935 (WEDNESDAY)

BULGARIA: Martial law is declared and Agrarians, Socialists, Communists, and others are arrested “because of a plot to overthrow the king and government.”

ETHIOPIA: The government notified the League of Nations Council that Italian troops have violated the frontier in province of Aussa. They asked Council "either to send observers or to obtain confirmation of this violation of Ethiopian territory through the Government of French Somaliland."

ITALY: Italy announced national mobilization stating ". . . because there is an attempt to commit against them the blackest of all injustices, to rob them of a place in the sun . . . to us were left only the crumbs from the sumptuous colonial booty of others. . . . With Ethiopia we have been patient for forty years. Now, enough! At the League of Nations, instead of recognizing the just rights of Italy, they dared to speak of sanctions. . . . To sanctions of a military character we will reply with orders of a military character. To acts of war we will reply with acts of war. . . .A people which is proud of its name and of its future cannot adopt a different attitude. . . ."

1938 (SUNDAY)

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Polish troops occupied the southern part of the Teschen region. This region has been divided about equally between Czechoslovakia and Poland after World War I, the larger northern part to Poland and the southern part to the Czechs. Poland gained 400 square miles (1 036 square kilometers) of territory and 240,000 new citizens (of which approximately 100,000 are Polish).

October 2nd, 1939 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: RAF: 10 Sqn., Leaflets and reconnaissance of Berlin. Four aircraft. Three successful, one failed to return. Slight opposition, but weather severe.

FRANCE: General Brooke confers with Gort C-in-C BEF at Arras on the training schedules of the BEF.
The French government agrees to the formation of a Czech National Army in exile.

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Cape Beale commissioned. Ex 58 ft fishing vessel built in 1925 at False Creek (Vancouver), British Columbia. Returned to owner April 1994.
Survey ship Acadia recommissioned as training ship HMCS Acadia.

U.S.A.: The government states that it will maintain relations with the new Polish government, but will not recognize partition.

In Washington, the German ambassador notifies the United States that merchant vessels must submit to visit and search, and that neutral merchant vessels refrain from suspicious actions when sighting German men-of-war and that they stop when summoned to do so. The Maritime Commission, and State and Navy Department representatives who meet to contemplate the request consider it proper and should be complied with.

The Chief of Naval Operations instructs all planning agencies within the naval establishment to accord precedence to the preparation of ORANGE (Japan) war plans.

The Benny Goodman sextet records the song "Flying Home" for Columbia Records. Fletcher Henderson is on the piano along with Lionel Hampton on vibes.

Submarine USS Searaven commissioned.

PANAMA: The Pan-American Conference sets up the 300 mile security and neutrality zone around the American coast agreed on 23 September. Within this zone all hostile actions by the belligerent powers is forbidden.

SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN: Graf Spee claims four more merchant ships in the South Atlantic over October before heading into the southern Indian Ocean. To search for her, seven hunting groups are formed in the Atlantic and one in the Indian Ocean. In total the Royal and French Navies deploy three capital ships, four carriers and 16 cruisers.

2 October 1940

October 2nd, 1940 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Battle of Britain:

Bf109s operating at altitude over south-east England. Mixture of fighter and fighter-bomber variants to bomb London before RAF can react.

50 daylight raiders also relied upon cloud and rain cover to mask their approach to London. One Do17 was shot down by the Hurricanes of 17 Squadron near RAF Pulham.

Losses: Luftwaffe, 10; RAF, 1.

Destroyer HMS Zetland laid down.

USS Mason (DD-191), commissioned as HMS Broadwater (H-81), part of the destroyers-for-bases deal. (Ron Babuka)

GERMANY: U-136 laid down.

GREECE: Two light cruisers, the Australian HMAS Sydney (D 48) and the British HMS Orion (85), bombarded Italian defenses on Stampalia Island in the Aegean Sea.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The Royal Navy completes a sweep of the eastern Mediterranean, during which additional forces are landed on Malta. Today, destroyers HMS Havock and HMS Hasty sink submarine 'Berillo' off Sollum.

CANADA: Armed yacht HMCS Wolf commissioned.
Armed yacht HMCS Vison arrived Halifax from conversion and arming at Pictou, Nova Scotia.

U.S.A.: Baseball.

Submarine USS Tuna launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-32 sank SS Kayeson. After attacking Kayeson, the submerged U-32 collided with the ship and sustained damage to her bow.

2 October 1941

October 2nd, 1941 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Escort Carrier HMS Charger is commissioned.

FRANCE: Paris: During the night explosive charges destroy six synagogues. SS Standartenführer Helmut Knochen and the SD are thought to be responsible. One of Knochen's men, Obersturmführer Hans Sommer, had provided the dynamite and the transport to a small flying squad, who were all members of Eugène Deloncle's MSR (Mouvement Social Révolutionnaire a Fascist organisation).

GERMANY: Peenemunde: The Messerschimdt ME-163A rocket aircraft has today recorded a top speed of 623.85mph.

Previous flights showed that the aircraft expended almost all its fuel climbing to altitude. Today test pilot Heini Dittmar was towed to 13,000 feet by a Bf110 before casting off. Dittmar said that the Me163 suffered severe vibration and loss of control for a moment and he had thought that he had "had it at last".

Security will prevent the Germans claiming it as an official world record.

The SS executes Czech premier Alois Elias in Berlin.

U-598 launched.
U-377, U-590 commissioned.
U-636 and U-821 laid down.

LITHUANIA: Zagare: SS Einsatzkommandos machine-gun 2,146 Jews to death.

FINLAND: MTB Nuoli and Sisu attack enemy ships in Suursaari harbour, without results.

U.S.S.R.: The German attack on Moscow, Operation Typhoon, officially begins today. Hoth's 3rd and Hoeppner's 4th Panzer Groups, the 4th, 2nd and 9th Armies all join Guderian's units which started 2 days ago.

2,000 German tanks advanced against the Russian lines in this the "last, great decisive battle of the war", according to Hitler, in a communiqué to his troops, broadcast before the battle commenced.

Forces have been withdrawn from south and north to boost the German assault, which many generals had wanted to make several weeks ago before Hitler ordered a diversion to capture industrial and coal-mining areas in the south.

Today's attack makes rapid progress. It needs to as it faces not only dogged Soviet resistance, but also the onset of the Russian winter.

For Leningrad, this assault has offered some respite. Field Marshal von Leeb has failed to take the city by storm, and his tanks have been assigned to Typhoon. Hitler still expects von Leeb to succeed, using artillery and aerial bombardment and the oldest siege weapon, starvation. Hitler says Leningrad "will fall like a leaf."

In Leningrad itself over 4,000 have died in 200 artillery bombardments and 23 air raids in the past month. The first deaths from starvation have been reported.

AUSTRALIA: The ruling coalition government of the United Australia Party and the United Country Party in Australia falls. The Labor Party, with John Curtin as Prime Minister, takes office. (Ric Pelvin)

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: MacArthur"> MacArthur chooses Brereton, whom he had known in the Firs World War, as his Air Commander. (Marc James Small)

CANADA: Corvette HMCS Louisburg commissioned.

U.S.A.: Baseball!

President Franklin D. Roosevelt rejects Japanese Prime Minister Konoye's request to meet and discuss Pacific and Far Eastern questions.

Destroyers USS Fletcher and Radford laid down.

The motion picture "One Foot in Heaven" is released today. Directed by Irving Rapper, this drama stars Fredric March, Martha Scott, Beulah Bondi and Gene Lockhart; Gig Young appears in an uncredited bit part. The plot concerns a minister and his wife facing various problems as church life and 20th century America clash. The film is nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award but loses to "How Green Was My Valley."

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-431 sank SS Hatasu in Convoy ON-19.
U-562 sank SS Empire Wave in Convoy ON-19.
U-94 sank SS San Florentino.

The USN destroyer USS Winslow (DD-359), in screen of convoy ON-20 (U.K. to North America), is detached from Task Unit 4.1.3 to proceed to the assistance of Dutch motor vessel MS Tuva, torpedoed by German submarine U-575 about 610 nautical miles (1 130 kilometers) south-southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland, at position 54.16N, 26.36W. Although Winslow finds the freighter still afloat, the destroyer depth charges a "doubtful" submarine contact in the vicinity and upon her return is unable to locate any survivors. Winslow rejoins ON-20 the following morning. The Dutch freighter's crew, however, is apparently rescued by another ship, for the Lloyd's List of Shipping Losses: World War II lists only one man missing from among the complement of 35.

2 October 1942

October 2nd, 1942 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The USAAF 4th Fighter Group flies its first mission.

While approaching the Clyde the British liner RMS Queen Mary (83,000 tons) on the final leg of her trans-Atlantic journey meets her cruiser escort HMS Curacoa (D 41). A lookout on Curacoa reports a suspected U-boat sighting and Curacoa goes in pursuit of the submarine. The Curacoa cuts across the bow of Queen Mary while she is travelling at 28 knots, is cut into two halves the two sections ending up 100 yards apart, and sinks about 56 nautical miles north-northwest of Londonderry, at 55 50N, 08 03W is lost with 338 of her crew. There are 26 survivors. The Queen Mary does not stop, as are her orders, she has 15,000 American troops onboard. Such is the impact that the Queen Mary's bow plates are folded over for about 40 feet back into the vessel. The Queen Mary is transporting some of the subordinate units of the U.S. 29th Infantry Division including the 116th Infantry Regiment and 111th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm Howitzer, Truck-Drawn) from the US to Britain. (Ric Pelvin, Jack McKillop and Alex Gordon(108))

Corvette HMCS Weyburn arrived Liverpool UK for fitting of Oerlikon guns.

Royal Navy and US Navy agreed to pool their knowledge in the effort to crack the four-rotor U-boat Enigma codes, as well as Italian and Japanese naval codes

BELGIUM: During the day, six RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos attacked a steelworks at Liege without loss.

NETHERLANDS: During the night of 2/3 October, RAF Bomber Command sent three Wellingtons to lay mines in the Frisian Islands.

FRANCE: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 13: 61 bombers and 54 fighters are dispatched to attack 3 targets in France; 1 fighter is lost:

* 32 B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the Avions Potez aircraft factory at Meaulte; they claim 4-9-5 aircraft. Escort is provided by 31 P-38 Lightnings; 1 P-38 is lost.

* 6 B-17s fly a diversionary missions to Longuenesse Airfield at St Omer; they claim 5-4-4 aircraft. Escort is provided by 23 Spitfires; they claim 4-0-1 aircraft.

* 11 unescorted DB-7s attack a ship in a dock at Le Havre without loss.

Former prime minister and president of the chamber of deputies Edouard Herriot is arrested by the Vichy police. He challenged the legality of the 1940 parliamentary vote establishing the Vichy regime. Herriot is deported to German in 1944 but survived and re-entered French politics in 1945.

GERMANY: The German OKW issues a decree which in one fell swoop 'rehabilitated' c. 28,000 or so German citizens formerly 'unworthy of bearing arms' ('unwehrwurdig'), and established the formation of the '999. Bewaehrungstruppe' at Tr.Ub.plz. Heuberg/Swaebisch Alb, (WK.V) south of Stuttgart.

These men were a rather heterogenous grouping of dissidents who had previously spent time before the war in KL (konzentrationslager) 'protective custody' detention or civil 'zuchthaus' (prison) for both political or criminal reasons, and so were nominally exempted from military service. Their 'crimes' ranged from having either Socialist or KPD backgrounds, to having exhibited overtly critical behaviour toward the NS regime; some were even German volunteers who had fought on the Republican side in the Communist Brigades during the Spanish Civil War who had the misfortune to have come under German jurisdiction again. Among them, though in smaller numbers, were rapists, murderers, thieves, and what, according to the Gestapo's all inclusive category of 'enemy of the State', were the ubiquitous 'grumblers' and 'anti-social elements.' (Russ Folsom)

U-550, U-987, U-988 laid down.

During the night of 2/3 October, RAF Bomber Command dispatched 188 aircraft, 95 Wellingtons, 39 Halifaxes, 31 Lancasters and 23 Stirlings, to bomb Krefeld; seven aircraft, three Halifaxes, two Wellingtons, a Lancaster and a Stirling, are lost, 3.1 per cent of the force. The Pathfinders encountered dense haze and their marking is late. The raid which developed is dispersed and not expected to cause much damage. Only three streets in the northern part of the town are mentioned as being hit.

NORWAY: A 36 year-old German officer, a driver, die by firing squad, accused of being an "enemy of the people." His crime was to sell five litres of methyl alcohol, which he claimed was 98% alcohol and could be used to produce liquor, to an infantry regiment's anti-tank defence unit. Several soldiers fell ill, and two died.

According to the daily order, "the punishment shall be announced to the troops and auxiliary units, and it shall be used as a tool for repeated and insistent admonishment." (Andreas Ulrich, Der Spiegel. May 6, 2005)(Henry Sirotin)

U.S.S.R.: (Sergey Anisimov)(69)Baltic Fleet, Ladoga and Onega Flotillas: Shipping loss. MS "TSch-57 "Udarnik"" - mined close to Sescar Is.

MADAGASCAR: British forces take Antsirabe in the center of the island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC

NEW GUINEA: In the Owen Stanley Range A-20 Havocs bomb and strafe Japanese campsites around Myola and hit several trails in the area, while P-400 Airacobras strafe bridges at Sirorata and Wairopi and a village northeast of Wairopi.

Australian troop continue moving north on the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea. At Nauro, the bodies of two Australians are found; one is bound to a tree and the second is decapitated.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-17s bomb shipping and airfield at Rabaul on New Britain Island, damaging the Japanese light cruiser HIJMS Tenryu.

ELLICE ISLANDS: The U.S. Marine Corps’ 5th Defense Battalion from Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides Islands, occupies Funafuti Atoll in the Ellice Islands. Funafuti is located about 699 nautical miles (1 294 kilometers) south-southeast of Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: 11 B-24 Liberators and 6 P-39Airacobras bomb 2 Japanese cargo ships in Kiska harbor (no hits observed, drop demolition charges throughout the Main Camp area, and hit a hangar south of the seaplane ramp; 4 floatplanes and a biplane are shot down. Enemy aircraft bomb the Adak Island airfield without inflicting damage.

CANADA: Trawler HMS Baffin arrived Halifax to repair defective crankshaft.

NEWFOUNDLAND: A Sikorsky VS-44A Flying Boat, msn 4401, registered NC41880 and named “Excalibur” by the U.S. airline American Export Airlines, crashes at Botwood at 1905 hours local killing six of the 26 passengers and five of the eleven crew. This is American Export Flight 71 from New York City to Foynes, County Limerick, Éire via Botwood. While attempting to takeoff, the aircraft porpoised, attained a height of 35 feet (10,7 meters)t. and then crashed into the water and broke up. The crash is blamed on the inadvertent actuation of the wing flaps to the full 35 degrees position during the take-off run, thereby rendering the aircraft excessively nose-heavy and uncontrollable.

U.S.A.: President Roosevelt is granted power to control wages, salaries and agricultural prices as of November 1 by the Stabilization of the Cost of Living Act which becomes law today.

Elmer Davis, Office of War Information Director, recommends to President Roosevelt that Japanese Americans be allowed to enlist for military service. This provided the initiative for the concept of an all-JA military unit. Nisei trainees being welcomed to an Infantry replacement training centre. (Gene Hanson)

The Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, by amendment to a USN design study contract, is authorized to construct two 19A axial flow turbojet powerplants. Thereby, fabrication is initiated of the first jet engine of wholly American design.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: A USAAF B-18A Bolo of the 99th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 9th Bombardment Group (Heavy), based at Zandery Field, Surinam, sinks the German submarine U-512 off French Guiana at position 06-50N, 52-25W, by Aerial depth charges. One wounded survivor, Matrosengefreiter Franz Machen, self-escapes from the sea bottom and the crew of the B-18A sights and drops him a life raft; he is rescued ten days later by the USS Ellis and spends the rest of the war as a PoW. He survived in part by killing and eating seabirds that attacked him while he lay exposed on the raft. (Mark Horan and Jack McKillop and Dave Shirlaw)

U-175 sank SS Aneroid.
U-175 was attacked twice by a B-18 aircraft (USAAF), but suffered no damage
U-201 sank SS Alcoa Transport.

2 October 1943

October 2nd, 1943 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: England, the USAAF's Eight Air Force flies three missions.

* The VIII Air Support Command Mission 75: 72 B-26 Marauders are dispatched to the Longuenesse Airfield at St. Omer, France; because of cloud cover, only 6 hit the target at 1715 hours; the remainder refrain from bombing because the target is in occupied territory.

* The VIII Bomber Command flies 2 missions:

- Mission 106: 349 B-17s are dispatched to the industrial area of Emden, Germany; led by 2 B-17 pathfinders, 339 hit the target at 1557-1603 hours; they claim 15-6-12 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 227 P-47 Thunderbolts which claim 5-3-1 Luftwaffe aircraft. In addition to the above, 21 B-24 Liberators are dispatched to Woensdrecht Airfield, The Netherlands; the target is obscured by clouds and the mission is aborted.

- Mission 107: 2 B-17s join the RAF in a night mission to Munich; no losses or casualties.

Frigates HMS Ekins and Redmill launched. Minesweeper HMS Gozo commissioned.

NETHERLANDS: During the night of 2/3 October, 17 RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands.

FRANCE: The USAAF Eighth Air Force’s VIII Air Support Command flies Mission 75: 72 B-26 Marauders are dispatched to the Longuenesse Airfield at St. Omer; because of cloud cover, only six hit the target at 1715 hours; the remainder refrain from bombing because the target is in occupied territory.

During the night of 2/3 October, RAF Bomber Command lay mines off two ports: eight aircraft lay mines off St. Nazaire and seven lay mines off Lorient. Meanwhile, 17 aircraft drop leaflets over northern France.

GERMANY: The USAAF Eighth Air Force dispatches 349 B-17 Flying Fortresses to the industrial area of Emden,; led by two B-17 pathfinders, 339 hit the target at 1557-1603 hours; they claim 15-6-12 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 B-17 Flying Fortresses are lost. Escort is provided by 227 P-47 Thunderbolts which claim 5-3-1 Luftwaffe aircraft.

During the night of 2/3 October, RAF Bomber Command sent 294 Lancasters and two USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses to Munich; 273 bombed the target with the loss of eight Lancasters, 2.7 per cent of the force. Visibility over the target is clear but the initial marking is scattered. Heavy bombing developed over the southern and south-eastern districts of Munich but later stages of the raid fell up to 15 miles (24 kilometers) back along the approach route. Most of this inaccurate bombing is carried out by No 5 Group aircraft, which are again attempting their “time-and-distance” bombing method independently of the Pathfinder marking. The No 5 Group crews are not able to pick out the Wurmsee lake, which is the starting point for their timed run. Mosquitos are sent to bomb two targets: four each struck Cologne and Gelsenkirchen. Seventeen other aircraft bombed Freiburg. A number of mines are laid off the coast: 32 aircraft laid mines in the Kattegat, a bay in the North Sea, nine laid mines off Sassnitz, six in the Fehmarn Channel, five in the Heligoland Bight, in the southeastern corner of the North Sea and four in Kiel Harbor.

U-1168, U-1169, U-1228 launched.
U-243 commissioned.

FINLAND: Icebreaker Sisu is damaged by magnetic mine at Melkki sea-lane just off Helsinki.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet submarine SC-402 sunk by mines at Koffer Gepackt or Konrad Begrusst. All hands lost.

ITALY: In U.S. Fifth Army’s British X Corps area, the U.S. 82d Airborne Division moves into Naples to police it while an advance is being continued to the Volturno River, a natural barrier covering Naples. In the VI Corps area, while the 3d Infantry Division drives northward toward the Volturno River on the left flank of the corps, 34th and 45th Infantry Divisions, the 45th on the right, are moving along separate routes toward Benevento, an important road junction. To hasten the advance along the Adriatic coast in the British Eighth Army area, the 2d Special Service Brigade (commandos) of XIII Corps lands, during the night of 2/3 October, near Termoli and secures the town and port; they soon join the 78th Division, which, moving north along the coast, secures a bridgehead across the Biferno River.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force fighter-bombers attack motor transports, roads, and bridges during armed reconnaissance missions from the Volturno Valley north to Isernia and west to Benevento.

During the night of 2/3 October, RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group attack two targets: 30 attack the Coast Road at Formia and 30 bomb the pontoon bridge at Grassanise.

CHINA: 5 Fourteenth Air Force P-40s dive-bomb and strafe Yangtze River shipping in the Chiuchiang area. Strafing damages several small craft.

NEW GUINEA: Finschhafen falls to the Australian 20th Brigade. The 23rd Brigade also reaches Finschhafen from Lae.

Success at Lae came earlier than expected, and the 9th Division was ordered to seize Finschhafen in continuation of the campaign for the conquest of the Huon peninsula: success would help the Allies to seize objectives in New Britain, thus contributing to the isolation of Rabaul. The 7th Division was also to seize areas in the vicinity of Kaiapit and Dumpu. The first wave of Australians swept ashore near Finschhafen on 22 September. Japanese opposition was fierce, but the beach-heads were soon cleared.

The Fifth Air Force attacks various targets:

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Ambon Island in the Moluccas Islands.

NEW BRITAIN: B-25s strafe villages in the Talasea area and barges off Gasmata Island while B-26's bomb Hoskins Airfield; and a B-24 bombs Cape Gloucester Airfield.

MOLUCCAS ISLANDS: Other B-24's bomb Amboina Island.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: 6 Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells join USN SBD Dauntlesses in attacking Hamberi Cove barge hideout near Vila on Kolombangara Island.

During the night of 2/3 October, the Japanese completed their withdrawal from Kolombangara Island. Efforts of U.S. naval forces to interfere are largely ineffective and some 9,400 Japanese escape safely.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: The USAAF Fifth Air Force attacks various targets on New Britain Island: B-25 Mitchells strafe villages in the Talasea area and barges off Gasmata while B-26 Marauders bomb Hoskins (Cape Hoskins or Gabubu) Airfield; and a B-24 bombs Cape Gloucester Airfield.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Antigonish laid down.

U.S.A.: Baseball, the New York Yankees take 2 from the Browns 5-1 and 7-6 for their 14th sweep of a doubleheader, an American League mark. Yankee right fielder Bud Metheny hits a home run in the opener for the Yankees 100th home run of the season.

The baseball season finishes with attendance off some 13 percent from the previous year. The Brooklyn Dodgers and Detroit Tigers, both good for a million in contending years, each drop below 700,000. Only the Philadelphia Phillies, under new ownership, have a significant increases, from 230,000 to 467,000. National League attendance falls from 8.9 million in 1942 to 7.7 million this year.

Frigate USS Peoria launched
Destroyer escorts USS Burrows and O'Reilly launched. Frigate USS Brunswick commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-168 sank SS Haiching.
U-223 damaged SS Stanmore beyond repair in Convoy MKS-27.

2 October 1944

October 2nd, 1944 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Corvette HMCS Kincardine departed Londonderry as part of the escort for the 39-ship Liverpool to New York City convoy ON-257. The convoy arrived safely on 18 Oct 44.

Aircraft carrier HMS Triumph launched
Submarine HMS Spearhead launched.

England, the Eighth Air Force flies four strategic missions:

* Mission 658: 887 B-17s and 549 fighters, in 3 forces, are dispatched to make PFF attacks on industrial targets at Cologne and Kassel, Germany; 2 B-17s are lost:

- 305 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Bettenhausen ordnance depot at Kassel (129); targets of opportunity are Kassel (143), Fritzlar Airfield (12) and other (1). Escort is provided by 228 P-47s and P-51s without loss.

- 458 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Henschel motor vehicle plant at Kassel (384); targets of opportunity are Wiesbaden (31), Gesecke (9) and other (17); 2 B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 219 P-47s and P-51s without loss.

- 110 B-17s hit the Ford motor vehicle plant at Cologne. Escort is provided by 53 P-47s and P-51s without loss.

* Mission 659: 308 B-24s are dispatched to make a PFF attack on the marshalling yard at Hamm (266); targets of opportunity are Handorf Airfield (29) and Munster (1); 2 B-24s are lost. Escort is provided by 212 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost.

* Mission 660: 2 B-17s, escorted by 15 P-51s, drop leaflets on Dutch islands during the day.

* Mission 661: 5 B-24s and 3 B-17s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night.

On the European Continent, tactical operations by the Ninth Air Force include:

* HQ XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional) goes into operation along with the US Ninth Army (this new Tactical Air Command is formed from elements of the IX and XIX Tactical Air Commands).

* In Germany, the 9th Bombardment Division strikes the industrial area of Ubach and defended positions at Herbach.

* Fighters fly armed reconnaissance (and later night patrol) over Belgium, eastern France, and western Germany and support the US First, Third, and Seventh Armies in eastern France and western Germany.

BELGIUM: First Canadian Army drives to clear Scheldt estuary and open port of Antwerp to shipping.

British Field Marshal Montgomery, General Officer Commanding 21st Army Group, decides to drive southeast against the Ruhr from Nijmegen, The Netherlands, rather than continue northward. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Forces, asks that the two U.S. divisions with the British Second Army be returned as soon as possible.

During the day, 71 RAF Bomber Command Halifaxes deliver petrol (gasoline) from the U.K. to Melsbroek Airfield in Brussels.

NETHERLANDS: Ten USAAF Eighth Air Force bombers drop leaflets, two during the day and eight during the night of 2/3 October.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Seventh Army’s VI Corps area, Grandvillers falls to the 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division.

HQ XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional) goes into operation along with the U.S. Ninth Army. This new Tactical Air Command is formed from elements of the IX and XIX Tactical Air Commands.

GERMANY: The US 1st Army begins a new offensive against the Siegfried Line between Aachen and Geilenkirchen.

In U.S. First Army’s XIX Corps area, after aerial preparation that is none too successful and artillery bombardment that virtually eliminates German flak, the 30th Infantry Division begins the corps’ assault on the West Wall, attacking across the shallow Wurm River between Aachen and Geilenkirchen. The 117th Infantry Regiment of the 30th Infantry Division, crossing at Marienberg, reduces band of pillboxes within its sector and takes Palenberg; the 119th, crossing at Rimburg, is strongly opposed from Rimburg castle and Rimburg woods and cannot get beyond the railroad embankment. Armor attempts to assist the assault but is mired on the east bank of river. A German counterattack, delayed until about midnight by interdictory fire, is quickly repelled. Diversionary attack by 115th Infantry of the 29th Infantry Division, northwest of Geilenkirchen, overruns Hatterath, Birgden, and Kreuzrath and penetrates into Schierwaldenrath despite strong opposition. The U.S. 7th Armored Division is assisted by British and U.S. artillery as well as aircraft as it continues their effort to clear a corridor west of the Maas River. A task force of Combat Command B takes Vortum, but efforts to invest Overloon fail and the Germans begin a series of counterattacks. To the south, the Belgian 1st Brigade breaks off action in the Wessem area since it is greatly outnumbered by the Germans.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force bombs ten targets during the day: 551 attack the Henschel motor vehicle plant Kassel, 223 make a PFF on the marshalling yard at Hamm, 111 hit the Ford motor vehicle plant at Cologne, 106 bomb the Bettenhausen ordnance depot at Kassel, 31 hit an ordnance depot at Wiesbaden, 12 attack Fritzlar Airfield, 9 bomb the marshaling yard at Geiseke and 21 bomb targets of opportunity. Four aircraft are lost.

The USAAF Ninth Air Force strikes the industrial area of Ubach and defended positions at Herbach.

During the night of 2/3 October, 33 RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb Brunswick, two each hit Pforzheim and Dortmund and three bomb the aircraft industry at Frankfurt-am-Main.

POLAND: The brave resistance in Warsaw surrenders to the Germans.

FINLAND: The Red Army pushes into Lapland, pursuing the retreating Nazis.

The fighting in Tornio went on, and by 20:00 hrs, the train station and the German supply depot were captured. The supply depot had large quantities of liquor in it, and before the officers could stop the men, heavy drinking took place. The whole 2nd Bn and parts of the 1st Bn became unfit for combat, but luckily the Germans waited for reinforcements and didn't attack at a time when they would've surely swept the drunken Finns from Tornio.

Soon the Germans launched the first serious counter-operation (the previous ones had been too small as they underestimated Finnish strength), but failed to push the 11th Rifle Reg out of Tornio. (Sami Korhonen)

ITALY: Weather grounds Twelfth Air Force medium bombers and restricts fighters to reconnaissance and patrols; during the night of 1/2 Oct A-20s bomb targets of opportunity in the Po Valley.

In the U.S. Fifth Army’s IV Corps area, the 24th Guards Brigade of the South African 6th Armoured Division continues futile efforts to take Mount Catarelto. In the II Corps area, the U.S. 34th Infantry Division clears Cedrecchia but cannot take Mt. del Galletto or Hill 789 until after the Germans pull back, during the night of 2/3 October. The U.S. 91st Infantry Division seizes Monghidoro and reduces German defenses in this region. In the British Eighth Army’s V Corps area, elements of the Indian 4th Division continue their drive on San Martino.

GREECE: Allied troops land on Crete.

INDIA: The British Chiefs of Staff and War Cabinet have decided that Operation DRACULA (attack on Rangoon) cannot be undertaken in March 1945 as hoped without detracting from the main effort in Europe. Admiral Louis Mountbatten Supreme Commander, South East Asia Command, having concluded planning for Operation CAPTIAL (drive on Mandalay) and Operation DRACULA at reduced cost in response to request from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, issues directives calling for Operation CAPITAL to be undertaken at once and Operation DRACULA about November 1945. The U.S. and Chinese Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) part of Operation CAPITAL is to be conducted in two phases: clearing to line Indaw-Kunchaung-Sikaw-Namhkam by mid-December; and to a line Lashio-Mongmit--Thabeikkyin by mid-February 1945. General tasks of NCAC are to defend the air route to China and overland communications; secure that part of Assam and upper Burma within its zone.

BURMA: Mountbatten orders an immediate offensive against Mandalay.

On the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) front, gasoline (petrol) deliveries to Myitkyina by pipeline are begun.

49 Tenth Air Force P-47s pound several towns and bridges in the Bhamo area and destroy buildings in Shwekyina, Kaungsin, Maingka, Kyungyi, Singan, and Kabani; 20+ P-47s hit North Burma railroad targets and troops at Man He and Manla; 7 P-47s bomb Kutkai while 8 sweep the Lungling, China-Loiwing area, destroying a warehouse at Selan; 8 B-25s slightly damage road bridges north of Lashio; 4 others bomb and damage Nambkai road bridges and their vicinity; troop carrier aircraft fly 260+ sorties, delivering men and supplies to various points in the CBI.

CHINA: 11 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s attack the town of Pingnam while 16 bomb Tien Ho and White Cloud Airfields in Canton and the town of Samshui; 70+ P-40s and P-51 Mustangs on armed reconnaissance over southern China attack various targets of opportunity, chiefly river traffic and troop areas around Chuanhsien, Taochuan, Takbing, Wuchou, Dosing, and the Wenchow peninsula, and attack shipping in the Campba Port-Hongay area of French Indochina.

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, Far East Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb Liang (Laha or Ambon East) Airfield on Ambon Island while B-24s hit Haroekoe Aerodrome on Ceram Island; P-38 Lightnings cover the Laha raid, attack shipping in Seri and Ambon Bays on Ambon Island and hit Amahai Airfield on Amahai Island and Kairatoe Airfield on Halmahara Island. Off Halmahera Island B-25 Mitchells fly a barge sweep, bomb Laboehan on Celebes Island and attack the coastal villages on Weda and Boeli Bays on Halmahara Island.

JAPAN: In the Kurile Islands, photo reconnaissance missions by four USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-25 Mitchells to Paramushiru Island and by two B-24 Liberators to Onnekotan Island, abort due to weather.

PELELIU: Fighting continues although the island was declared captured by Admiral Fort 3 days ago.

CENTRAL PACIFIC: Saipan Island-based Seventh Air Force B-24s hit Marcus Island in the North Pacific and shipping west of Chichi Jima Island, Bonin Islands.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC: Far East Air Force B-25s bomb Laha Airfield on Ambon Island while B-24s hit Haroekoe Island; P-38s cover the Laha raid, attack shipping in Seri and Amboina Bays and hit Amahai on Ceram Island and Kairatoe Airfield on Celebes Island. Off Halmahera Island B-25s fly a barge sweep, bomb Laboehan, and attack the coastal villages on Weda and Boeli Bays.

NEW GUINEA: In Dutch New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force P-40s attack vessels off Tamoelol village and Misool Island and bomb Otawiri and Ransiki Airfields.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: On Peleliu Island in the Palau Islands, the 321st Infantry Regiment finishes clearing and mopping up Mt. Amiangal on the northern part of the western arm, having killed at least 175 Japanese. The 7th Marine Regiment continues attacks on the Umurbrogol Pocket. On Angaur Island, the 322d Infantry Regiment suspends their costly assault against a Japanese pocket on the northwestern part of the island. The pocket, known to cover an area of less than 500 yards (457 meters) from east to west and 150 yards (137 meters) from north to south, is subjected to close-in fire.

JAPAN: Photo reconnaissance missions, by 4 Eleventh Air Force B-25s to Paramushiru Island and by 2 B-24s to Onnekotan Island, in the Kurile Islands, abort due to weather.

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Kalamalka commissioned.

U.S.A.:
Time Magazine, October 2, 1944:

MUTINY ON MARE ISLAND
A case without precedent in U.S. Navy history is drawing to a close this week on Yerba Buena Island, San Francisco Bay. Fifty U.S. sailors, all of them Negroes, are being tried for mutiny, for which the punishment may be death. The 50 are ammunition handlers who, a few weeks after the explosion of two ammunition-laden ships at Port Chicago (327 killed) refused to load a ship.
On an afternoon in August the ship had arrived at the Naval ammunition depot on Mare Island to take on a cargo of explosives. A division of loaders (105 men) - all of whom had been at Port Chicago - were mustered for the job. They fell in, shuffled a few steps, stopped. All but eleven of them refused to work.
The commandant tried persuasion. He sent the chaplain to talk to them. The chaplain pleaded" "Come on, boys, I'll go with you." The Negroes still balked. The commandant and his executive talked to them individually but could persuade only 21 of them to obey orders and go to work.
Another division was mustered. It lined up but broke ranks before marching a step. A third division arrived in busses. All but eight of them refused to work. In all, 277 men, all of them Negroes, refused duty. Finally Rear Admiral Carleton H. Wright, commandant of the 12th Naval District, hurried to the depot and made a stern but fatherly speech. Even then 50 held out - the 50 on trial this week.

Submarine USS Irex laid down.

Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-269 was commissioned at New York. LT Jacob Bursey, USCGR, was her commanding officer. She departed New York for the Southwest Pacific area on 22 October 1944. She operated during the war at Palawan, Philippines.

ARCTIC OCEAN: U-921 (Type VIIC) is listed as missing in the Arctic Ocean northwest of Narvik, Norway with all 51 crew. No explanation exists for its loss which probably occurred before Sept 29. (Alex Gordon)

2 October 1945

October 2nd, 1945 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers in London concludes but they are unable to reach any agreements on the peace treaties with Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, or Romania. The conference breaks up over the issue of Chinese and French participation in the negotiations and reveals a growing rift between the Soviet and Western Allies.

GERMANY: Eisenhower removes Patton from active combat.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Vietnamese rebels agree a ceasefire with France.

CANADA: Corvettes HMCS Frontenac, Guelph and Owen Sound sold to United Ship Corp of New York. Guelph became mercantile Guelph (Panamanian) and Owen Sound became SS Cadio (Greek).

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