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1933   (FRIDAY) 

GERMANY: Germany submits an aide memoire (a position paper) on disarmament again insisting on equality of rights stating, "This need [of assuring her security] requires that Germany be either absolutely free as the other countries, or subject to the same qualitative restrictions."

1934   (SATURDAY) 

SPAIN: Luis Companys, President of Catalonia, declares the independence of Catalonia. Spanish troops suppress the independence movement, as well as an insurrection by miners in Asturias, where a Communist government is proclaimed. Spanish forces ruthlessly suppressed the revolt in Asturias with great brutality.

1935   (SUNDAY)

ETHIOPIA: The Italians capture Adwa in northern Eritrea Province and began their offensive into the interior.

1937   (WEDNESDAY) 

SWITZERLAND: The League of Nations Assembly declares Japan the violator of the Nine-Power Treaty and proposes a conference of signatories.

UNITED STATES: The government expresses official approval of the League of Nations conclusions about Japan stating, "In the light of the unfolding developments in the Far East, the Government of the United States has been forced to the conclusion that the action of Japan in China is inconsistent with the principles which should govern the relationship between nations and is contrary. to the provisions of the Nine Power Treaty of February 6, 1922, regarding principles and policies to be followed in matters concerning China, and to those of the Kellogg-Briand Pact of August 27, 1928. Thus the conclusions of this Government with respect to the foregoing are in general accord with those of the Assembly of the League of Nations."

1938   (THURSDAY) 

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: The Czechoslovak government accords Slovakia full autonomy, which has been the goal of Slovak leaders for a long time. Monsignor Joseph Tiso became the new premier of Slovakia.

October 6th, 1939 (FRIDAY)

The U.S. freighters SS Black Gull and SS Black Falcon are detained by British authorities.

Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS KANIMBLA is commissioned.

FRANCE: The U.S. freighter SS Exeter detained at Marseilles yesterday, is released. The captain reports that the ship was examined several times by French naval authorities.

GERMANY: Berlin: Noon: Hitler stands in the Reichstag and speaks of his desire for peace. He says that he has no quarrel with France and has given his best to foster Anglo-German friendship. "War in the west", he says, "would be a senseless waste of lives and wealth." He proposes a conference of leading European powers to prepare a statute giving peace and security for all. He also suggests a set of rules to make war less terrible.

"But if this war is really to be waged only in order to give Germany a new regime, that is to say, in order to destroy the present Reich once more and thus to create a new Treaty of Versailles, then millions of human lives will be sacrificed in vain, for neither will the German Reich go to pieces nor will a second Treaty of Versailles be made. And even should this come to pass after three, four, or even eight years of war, then this second Versailles would once more become the source of fresh conflict in the future. In any event, a settlement of the world's problems carried out without consideration of the vital interests of its most powerful nations could not possibly, after the lapse of from five to ten years, end in any other way than that attempt made 20 years ago which is now ended. . . . If Europe is really sincere in her desire for peace, then

POLAND: The last organized stand of the Polish Army at Kock and Lublin is ended by Panzer and motorised units of the German Tenth Army. 17,000 Poles are taken prisoner, thus ending the Polish campaign although sporadic fighting will continue in the more remote areas for a considerable period.

CHINA: Chinese forces repel Japan to win the First Battle of Changsha. Over 40,000 Japanese troops die during an 11 day battle in which the Japanese expeditionary force suffered its first setback against Chinese Nationalists since the outbreak of war two years ago. As well as heavy troop losses, the 120,000 strong Japanese force has lost huge quantities of arms as it was ambushed by troops defending Changsha, capital of Hunan. For the Chinese this is vindication of a switch to mobile guerrilla warfare as well as the retraining of their troops. Led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, the Nationalists have been claiming that the Japanese supply lines are overstretched and that they are weakened by the Japanese-Soviet conflict in August.

AUSTRALIA: The government approves sending five Australian destroyers to Singapore and placing a second light cruiser at the disposal of the British government. The government also states that the ships must be returned to Australian waters if the situation in the Far East deteriorates.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "Ninotchka" is released today. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, this romantic comedy stars Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas and Bela Lugosi; George Tobias appears in an uncredited bit part. The plot has a cold Russian agent (Garbo) coming to Paris on official business and meeting playboy Leon d'Algout who of course, she falls in love with. The film is nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Picture (it loses to "Gone With The Wind"), Best Actress (Garbo) and two writing awards.

Submarine USS MACKEREL is laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-32 damages SS LOCHGOIL.

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October 6th, 1940 (SUNDAY)

Battle of Britain: Small raids penetrate to several airfields (Middle Wallop, Northolt, Biggin Hill). The weather is dull with continuous rain all day. During the day, the Luftwaffe carries out most attacks by singly flying aircraft, which operate chiefly in East Anglia, Kent and Sussex. A number of attacks are made on various aerodromes in the country but there is very little damage to report. Quite a feature of the day is the number of attacks which have been made on small towns with machine-gun fire - Wickham Market, Felixstowe and Shirley (a suburb of Southampton) suffered chiefly, but very little damage is done.

U.S.A.: Baseball!

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-123 sinks SS BENLAWERS in convoy OB-221.

U-37 sinks SS BRITISH GENERAL in convoy OA-222.

During the morning U-103 fires two torpedoes at a lone tanker, but both miss the target. In the evening U-103 sinks SS NINA BORTHERN with four torpedoes.

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October 6th, 1941 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Newhaven: An official German statement on Bremen radio by "Lord Haw-Haw" tonight led to the cancellation of plans for the exchange of badly wounded PoWs. Two hospital ships were about to leave Newhaven for Dieppe when the war office telephoned to cancel. No immediate explanation was forthcoming, but the Haw-Haw broadcast spoke of an exchange of 100 Britons for a corresponding number of Germans. Such a man-for-man exchange is barred by the Geneva Convention of 1929, which provides for the exchange of all seriously wounded, irrespective of numbers.

No. 601 Squadron RAF flying from Duxford in Cambridgeshire, makes its first operation in the Bell P-400 Airacobra, a shoot-up of the French coast. (22)

Escort carrier HMS Stalker laid down. Destroyer HMS Quality launched.

GERMANY: U-732 is laid down.

U.S.S.R.: The German First Panzer Army's (Kleist's) right wing reaches Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov. He cuts off more than 100,000 Soviet troops. German advances in the Moscow sector continue. The German attacks east of Vyazma and Bryansk continue. Their advances force the Soviets into a more desperate situation.

ROMANIA: Bucharest: Romanian forces claim to have killed 70,000 Soviet soldiers on the eastern front and taken 60,000 prisoners, at a loss to themselves of 20,000 dead.

CANADA: Corvettes USS Action (ex-HMS Comfrey), USS Alacrity (ex-HMS Cornel), USS Beacon (ex-HMS Dittany) ordered from Collingwood Shipyards Collingwood, Ontario

Corvettes USS Caprice (ex-HMS Honesty), USS Brisk (ex-HMS Flax) ordered from Kingston Shipbuilding of Kingston, Ontario.
Corvette USS Clash (ex-HMS Linarnia ordered from Midland Shipyards of Midland, Ontario.
Frigates HMCS Barle, Cuckmere, Evenlode, Findhorn ordered from Canadian Vickers Montreal, Province of Quebec and paid for by US Lend-Lease funds'.

Frigates USS Asheville and Natchez (ex-HMS Adur and Annan) laid down Canadian Vickers Montreal, Province of Quebec. Corvette HMCS Dawson commissioned.

Baseball!

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-129 turned over the 119 survivors of the Kota Pinang to a Spanish tug near Cap Finisterre.
Gunboat Karjala is damaged by bombs dropped from a German plane.

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October 6th, 1942 (TUESDAY)

NETHERLANDS: During the day, three RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos attack the Stork diesel-engine works at Hengelo.

GERMANY: During the day, two RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb Bremen and one each bombs Munster and Saarbrucken. During the night of 6/7 October, RAF Bomber Command sends 237 aircraft, 101 Wellingtons, 68 Lancasters, 38 Stirlings and 30 Halifaxes, to bomb Osnabrück; 216 bomb the target. Six aircraft, two Halifaxes, two Lancasters and two Stirlings, are lost, 2.5 per cent of the force. The Pathfinders succeeded in illuminating the Dummer See, a large lake northeast of the target which is used as a run-in point. The town of Osnabrück is then found and marked. The bombing is well concentrated, with most of the attack falling in the center and the southern parts of the target. Osnabrück's report shows that 149 houses are destroyed, 530 are seriously damaged and 2,784 lightly damaged. Six industrial premises are destroyed and 14 damaged. Sixty five people are killed, 45 civilians, 16 policemen or servicemen and four foreign workers, and 151 are injured.

U-369 is laid down.

U-219 and U-848 are launched.

NORWAY: Martial law is declared in Trondheim.

U.S.S.R.: Malgobek, in the Caucasus, falls to German Army Group A. 

* The German III. Panzerkorps (von Mackensen) captures Malgobek in the bend of the Terek River in the Caucasus.

* Units of Heeresgruppe Mitte (von Bock) capture Brjansk on the road to Moscow.

EGYPT: British General Bernard Law Montgomery, General Officer Commanding Eighth Army, issues instructions for the El ‘Alamein offensive in the Western Desert.

LIBYA: US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24s hit Bengasi harbor, scoring a large number of near misses but no direct hits; a B-24 bombs Bardia during the return flight. AA is heavy and accurate and fighters attack 6 B-24s over target; 2 B-24s are lost.

NEW GUINEA: On the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, the Australian 2/25th Battalion is advancing towards Efogi while the 2/1st Battalion advances northward from Ower's Corner. Units of the US 32nd Division begin to advance over the Kapa Kapa Trail, 25 miles SW of the Kokoda Track in New Guinea. This route over the Owen Stanley Mountains is through even worse terrain that the Kokoda Track.

Fifth Air Force aircraft complete the movement of the reinforced Australian 18 Brigade to Wanigela on the peninsula between Dyke Acland and Collingwood Bays on the east coast of Papua; this is part of the move aimed at capture of the Buna-Gona area. The channel from Mime Bay to Cape Nelson has now been charted in order to permit shipment of supplies by water. 

NEW CALEDONIA: Major General Millard F. Harmon, Commander U.S. Army Forces in the South Pacific Area (USAFISPA), recommends to Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, Commander South Pacific Area and Commander of the South Pacific Force, that the projected invasion of Ndeni Island in the Santa Cruz Islands, scheduled to follow the capture of Tulagi and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, be postponed and that Guadalcanal be reinforced; that naval operations in the Solomons be increased; and that adequate airdrome construction personnel and equipment be sent to Guadalcanal. Admiral Ghorrnley decides to proceed with the plan to occupy Ndeni as a landing field site and agrees to reinforce Guadalcanal with an Army regiment and to improve airdrome facilities. The 164th Infantry Regiment of the Americal Division is chosen to reinforce Guadalcanal and the 147th Infantry Regiment (less 2 battalions) to occupy Ndeni.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Eleventh Air Force dispatches 8 B-24 Liberators, a B-17 Flying Fortress, 10 P-39Airacobras, and 8 P-38 Lightnings to fly bombing and weather missions over Kiska Island; a large transport is bombed in the harbor which is left sinking; hits are scored on a corvette and on a large freighter at Gertrude Cove and on a hangar in Main Camp; the radio station is damaged; and a float fighter is strafed and set afire.

CANADA: The last group of Japanese internees detained at Hastings Park internment camp in Vancouver, British Columbia, leave for camps in the British Columbia interior.

Minesweeper HMCS Oshawa laid down.

U.S.A.: In Washington D.C., the U.S.S.R., and the US sign an additional Lend-Lease Agreement (the Second Protocol) covering the period to 1 July, 1943. A total of 4.4 million tons (4 million metric tonnes) are to be sent to the Soviet Union, 3.3 million tons (3 million metric tonnes) by the northern Soviet ports and 1.1 million tons (1 million metric tonnes) by the Persian Gulf route.

* A second U.S. merchant ship is sunk off the coast of Oregon by the Japanese submarine HIJMS I-25 in 3 days. The ship is the armed tanker SS Larry Dohney.

* Chester Floyd Carlson obtains a patent on the xerography process for making electrostatic copies. Carlson worked in the patent department of an electronics firm and was frustrated at the difficulty of making copies of patent drawings. He investigated various processes and developed xerography after four years of experimenting. He made the first Xerox copy on 22 October 1938. Although he received a patent in 1942, he failed to interest companies in producing copy machines until 1947, when the Haloid Company of Rochester, New York, licensed the process. The company, which later changed its name to Xerox, introduced its first copy machine in 1958.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-116 sent her last radio message on this day (a weather report); nothing more was ever heard from this boat.

U-333 fought an epic battle with the British corvette HMS Crocus on 6 Oct, 1942. The U-boat lost 3 men dead (including the IWO) and several men wounded, including the commander, Peter Erich Cremer. The boat was heavily damaged and limped back to base with help from a replacement WO from the Milk Cow U-459. Cremer then spent 3 months in a hospital.[Oberleutnant zur See Bernhard Hermann, Bootsmaat Heinz Kurze, Maschinenobergefreiter Erwin Levermann]

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October 6th, 1943 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Frigates HMS Narborough and Tyler laid down.

Submarine HMS Spiteful commissioned.

Frigate HMS Nyasaland launched.

GERMANY: U-397, U-1001, U-1002 launched.
U-480, U-1163, U-1223 commissioned.

ITALY: Caserta falls to the US 5th Army, which then advances to the Volturno River. On the east coast British forces begin to prevail around Termoli.

Rome: German troops, some with "shopping lists" from Hermann Göring , are systematically looting the museums and churches of Rome and carrying off priceless works of art to Germany. Manuscripts and old masters are being removed wholesale by the men who came here to "guard" the city against the Allies. And not only works of art are leaving Italy for the Reich: thousands of former Italian soldiers are being rounded up and  taken to Germany as forced labourers. As Germany intensifies its control over its former Axis partner, Nazi paratroopers have ringed the Vatican, and one report has claimed that the pope has sent a sealed letter to each of his Italian cardinals to be read only in the event of his arrest.

XII Bomber Command B-17s bomb the Mestre marshalling yard while B-26 Marauders hit a highway chokepoint at Isernia, the highway at Mignano, and road junction at Formia; P-38s strafe Araxos Airfield in Greece; Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force planes on road-blocking missions hit targets at Teano, at Alfedena, between Cassino and Capua, and near Sessa Aurunca; XII Air Support Command P-40s and A-36 Apaches attack roads and vehicles north of the US Fifth Army battle zone and patrol the Naples area. The US Fifth Army reaches the south bank of the Volturno River and Capua falls to British units.

U.S.S.R.: Polar Fleet and White Sea Flotilla: Floating Base "Mayak" - by aviation, in Kuvshinskaya Salma (later raised)  (Sergey Anisimov)(69)
Black Sea Fleet and Azov Flotilla: LD "Kharkov", West to Gelenjik, DD "Vesposchadnii"  and DD "Sposobnii", all lost to aviation. (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

ITALY: The U.S. Fifth Army reaches the south bank of the Volturno River, successfully concluding another phase of the Italian campaign. In the British X Corps area, the 56th Division takes Capua.

     In the British Eighth Army's XIII Corps area, the 78th Division gains firm control of Biferno bridgehead at Termoli.

     In the air, 49 USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the Mestre marshalling yard with the loss of two aircraft. Meanwhile B-26 Marauders hit a highway chokepoint at Isernia, the highway at Mignano, and road junction at Formia; Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force planes on road-blocking missions hit targets at Teano, at Alfedena, between Cassino and Capua, and near Sessa Aurunca; XII Air Support Command P-40s and A-36 Apaches attack roads and vehicles north of the U.S. Fifth Army battle zone and patrol the Naples area.

GREECE: USAAF Twelfth Air Force P-38 Lightnings strafe Araxos Airfield south of the city of Araxos.

CHINA: 7 Fourteenth Air Force P-40s from Suichwan intercept an attacking force of 27 bombers and 21 fighters; a bomber and a fighter are shot down, and the attackers retire in the direction of Canton without dropping their bombs.

NEW GUINEA: In North East New Guinea, the Australian 2/17th Battalion is fighting at Kumawa, between Finschhafen and Sattleberg. Elements of the Australian 7th Division take Dumpu with unexpected ease and it will become a staging field for fighters.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: ALAMO (U.S. Sixth Army) Scouts land at Cape Gloucester, New Britain Island, for reconnaissance.

Fifth Air Force B-25s sweep along coastal areas of New Britain Island and through islands to the north and west, bombing and strafing targets of opportunity.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: 

The US 25th Division lands unopposed at Vila on Kolombangara.

* The Battle of Vella Lavella takes place at night when three USN destroyers (Captain Frank R. Walker) intercept and attack six IJN destroyers, three destroyer transports and small armed craft (Vice Admiral Ijuin Masuji) some 12 miles (19.3 km) off Marquana Bay as they attempt to evacuate land forces from Vella Lavella, in what proves to be the last surface engagement in the central Solomons. Three U.S. destroyers are damaged: USS O'Bannon (DD-450) in collision with destroyer USS Chevalier (DD-451); USS Selfridge (DD-357) by torpedo fired from either of Japanese destroyers HIJMS Shigure or HIJMS Samidare; and USS Chevalier by torpedo from Japanese destroyer HIJMS Yugumo. USS Chevalier is scuttled by destroyer USS Lavallette (DD-448) tomorrow. Torpedoes from USS Chevalier and USS Selfridge sink Japanese destroyer Yugumo.

* In the air, 8 Thirteenth Air Force P-39s and 8USNF4U Corsairs strafe barges off the west coast of Choiseul Island. 24 B-25s and 14 P-38s carry out a low-level strike against Kahili Airfield on Bougainville Island, damaging or destroying several parked aircraft.  

Action in the central Solomons comes to a close. Elements of the 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, make an unopposed landing on Kolombangara Island during the morning. U.S. casualties during the central Solomons campaign total 1,094 killed and 3,873 wounded. The counted Japanese dead, except on Vella Lavella Island, total 2,483. The campaign yields Allied forces four airfields (Munda, Ondonga and Segi on New Georgia Island and Barakoma on Vella Lavella Island) within range of Bougainville Island, the next objective.

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Oshawa launched. Yard oiler HMCS Dundalk commissioned.

U.S.A.: Baseball!

Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio: Dale Harriman completes his first week of training. He is shipped out with no indication of where he is going. The next morning, after spending the night on the train, he raises the blind on the Pullman car, the first thing he sees is a large sign, "Fort McClellen, Alabama, Infantry Replacement Training Center." (Glen Boren)

Destroyer escorts USS Hissem and Holder laid down.
Escort carrier USS Ommaney Bay laid down.

Destroyer escort USS Herzog commissioned.
Destroyers USS Richard P Leary and Heywood L Edwards launched. Escort carrier USS Solomons launched.

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October 6th, 1944 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: No.6 (RCAF) Group, RAF Bomber Command, deploys its largest sortie of the war with 523 aircraft involved.

Eighth Air Force flies 2 missions.

* Mission 667: 1,271 bombers and 784 fighter are dispatched to hit industrial targets in northern Germany; with one exception, all attacks are visual; 19 bombers and 4 fighters are lost:

- 447 B-17s are dispatched to hit Stargard Airfield (199), aircraft factories at Neubrandenburg (73) and Stettin (12); targets of opportunity are Stralsund (110), Kappeln (36), Freienwalde (1) and other (1); 1 B-17 is lost. Escort is provided by 180 P-51s; they claim 3-1-3 aircraft in the air and 30-0-14 on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost. 

- 418 B-17s are dispatched to Berlin to hit a munitions dump at Berlin/Spandau (144), aircraft factories at Berlin/Spandau (138) and tank factory at Berlin/Tegel (100); 10 hit a target of opportunity. 17 B-17s arelost. Escort is provided by 363 P -51s; they claim 15-0-5 aircraft; a P-51 is lost.

- 406 B-24s are dispatched to hit Harburg/Rhenania oil refinery (121) with PFF methods, munitions dump at Hamburg/Glinde (89) and aircraftfactories at Hamburg/Klockner (79) and Wenzendorf (46); targets of opportunity are Stade Airfield (29), the Hamburg area (8), Nordhoz Airfield (2), Bremervorde (1) and Ottersberg (1); a B-24 is lost. Escort is provided by 156 P-47s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air.

* Mission 668: 6 B-24s and 4 B-17s drop leaflets in Germany, the Netherlands and France during the night without loss. 

This is the USAAF's largest mission to date. In the first significant fighter actions of the month, 8th and 9th AF fighter pilots down 22 GAF fighters over Germany between 1100 and 1650 hours. (Jack McKillop and Skip Guidry)

WESTERN EUROPE:300+ Ninth Air Force B-26s and A-20 Havocs hit marshalling yards, barracks, and ammunition dump at Hengelo, the Netherlands and Duren, Germany and bridges at Arnhem, the Netherlands and  Aldenhoven, Germany; in Germany, fighters fly armed reconnaissance in the Dusseldorf, Aachen, Trier, Dieuze, and Koblenz areas, sweeps and patrols in forward areas, attack railroads in the Dorsel area, and support the First, Third, and Seventh Armies' forces in eastern France and western Germany.

BELGIUM: In the Canadian First Army area, II Corps opens an assault on the Breskens Pocket south of the Scheldt between the Leopold canal and the river near Breskens, while the Canadian 3d Division forces the Leopold Canal north of Maldegem and establishes a small bridgehead against stubborn resistance. Due to flooded conditions the going is slow.

NETHERLANDS: In the British Second Army area, attacks by the Canadian II Corps begin south of the Scheldt between the Leopold canal and the river near Breskens. Due to flooded conditions the going is slow. The costly effort to clear the Peel Marshes comes to an end as the U.S. 7th Armored Division breaks off the attack; the division has gained less than 2 miles (3,2 kilometers) in this operation and is still within the British zone.

     During the night of 6/7 October, four RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off Texel Island.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, heavy German fire fails to dislodge the Americans from the slag pile to the northwest of Metz. Task Force Warnock, which is strengthened by elements of 3d Battalion, 2d Infantry Regiment, and the 7th Combat Engineer Battalion, prepares to renew the attack on Fort Driant tomorrow.

     In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, the 3d Infantry Division continues the battle for Vagney and clears the Germans from positions astride the Tendon-Le Tholy road.

     In the French First Army's II Corps area, German counterattacks prevent French forces from progressing against the heights north of the Moselle River and isolate forward elements.

GERMANY: In the U.S. First Army's XIX Corps area, Lieutenant General Charles Corlett, Commanding General of the corps, issues orders late in the day, as the corps' West Wall bridgehead is being firmly established, halting further advance until link-up has been made with VII Corps. The 2d Armored Division, instead of driving east to secure crossings of the the Roer River is to maintain their current positions on the north flank of the bridgehead while assisting the 30th Infantry Division to push southeast. Combat Command B, 2d Armored Division, is stopped by the Germans on the left flank less than 1,000 yards (914 meters) from Geilenkirchen; on the right, they take the villages of Beggendorf and Waurichen, the latter northeast of Uebach. Combat Command A joins the 117th Infantry Regiment in an attack to the southeast that receives close air support and overruns the crossroads hamlet about halfway between Uebach and Alsdorf; a Combat Command A column thrusts east almost to Baesweiler. Task Force Cox of the 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, undergoes a counterattack that overruns four pillboxes before it is checked; these are later recovered. The Germans are again aided by massed artillery fire, but after a day's action offer less resistance. In the VII Corps area, 39th and 60th Infantry Regiments of the 9th Infantry Division attack at 1130 hours after preparatory bombardment, in the Huertgen Forest toward Schmidt against tenacious opposition.

     During the day, the USAAF Eighth Air Force dispatches 1,271 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators and 784 fighteto hit industrial targets in northern Germany; with one exception, all attacks are visual; 19 bombers and four fighters are lost: 163 hit Stargard Airfield, 146 bomb a power plant at Stralsund, 140 attack the Spandau aircraft engine factory in Berlin, 137 bomb the Spandau ordnance depot in Berlin, 129 hit the Rhenania oil refinery at Hamburg, 89 each bomb the Glinde ordnance depot at Hamburg and the Tegel-Altmarkisches armored vehicle factory in Berlin, 79 bomb the Klockner aircraft engine factory at Hamburg, 73 bomb the Focke Wolfe Fw 190 assembly plant at Neubrandenburg, 54 hit the Me 262 assembly plant at Wenzendorf, 36 hit the Luftwaffe training school at Stargard, 31 attack Stade Airfield, 12 bomb the Heer armored training school at Stettin, three each bomb Nordholz Airfield and miscellaneous targets and one each attack targets of opportunity at Bremervord and Ottesberg. During the night of 6/7 October, six B-24s and four B-17s drop leaflets over Germany. The escort fighters claim 19-1-8 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 30-0-14 on the ground. ((Skip Guidry and Jack McKillop)

     During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 320 aircraft, 254 Halifaxes, 46 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos, to attack the Holten synthetic oil plant at Sterkrade and the Buer synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen; 145 bomb the former and 147 hit the latter. Both raids take place in clear conditions and the bombing is considered to be accurate. Nine aircraft are lost, four Halifaxes and two Lancasters at Gelsenkirchen and three Halifaxes at Sterkrade.

     During the night of 6/7 October, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 523 aircraft, 248 Halifaxes, 247 Lancasters and 28 Mosquitos, to bomb Dortmund; 483 aircraft bomb the city. No. 6 (RCAF) Group provides 293 aircraft 248 Halifaxes and 45 Lancasters, the greatest effort by the Canadian group in the war. This raid opens a phase which some works refer to as "The Second Battle of the Ruhr." Five aircraft, two Canadian Halifaxes, two Lancasters and a Mosquito, are lost, less than 1 per cent of the force raiding this Ruhr target on a clear night. The Pathfinder marking and the bombing were both accurate and severe damage is caused, particularly to the industrial and transportation areas of the city, although residential areas also suffered badly. The second major raid of the night is against Bremen. A total of 253 aircraft, 246 Lancasters and seven Mosquitos carry out the last of 32 major Bomber Command raids on Bremen during the war; 246 aircraft bomb the city with the loss of five Lancasters. The raid, based on the No 5 Group marking method, is an outstanding success. Severe damage is caused to the AG Weser shipyard, the two Focke-Wulf factories, the Siemens Schuckert electrical works and other important war industries. The "transport network" is described as being seriously disrupted. (It is interesting to note the increased efficiency and hence destructive power of Bomber Command at this time. Bremen, with its shipyards and aircraft factories, had been the target for many carefully planned Bomber Command raids earlier in the war and is the target for one of the much publicized 1942 1,000-bomber raids. Now this raid by no more than a quarter of the total strength of Bomber Command, hardly mentioned in the history books, has finished off Bremen and this city need not be attacked by Bomber Command again.) Other raids during the night consisted of 20 Mosquitos bombing Berlin, ten hitting Ludwigshafen and two attacking Saarbrücken. Mining missions for the night were ten aircraft laying mines in the Heligoland Bight and five in the Weser River.

U-3022 is laid down.

HUNGARY: Soviets cross the border into Czechoslovakia and launch an offensive near Arad.

ESTONIA: Soviet forces of the Leningrad Front land on Oesel (Saarema) Island, off the coast of Estonia, and begin clearing the island.

BALTIC SEA: Finnish Navy units arrive to support landings to Tornio.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army area, the South African 6th Armoured Division takes Mt. Vigese in a surprise attack under cover of a heavy mist, and pushes on toward Mt. Stanco. In the IV Corps area, Task Force 92 begins a protracted struggle in the coastal sector for Mt. Cauala. In the II Corps area, the 168th Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Div finishes clearing the left flank of corps, the Germans having withdrawn from Hill 747; the 133d Infantry Regiment, faced with difficult supply problems, presses toward the Monterumici hill mass. In the 91st Infantry Division zone, the 362d Infantry Regiment attacks the German delaying line based on Mt. Castellari. The 85th Infantry Division continues their attack with the 338th and 337th Regiments; the 338th pushes toward Castelnuovo di Bisano and La Villa. The 88th Infantry Division continues their efforts to take Hill 587. In the British XIII Corps area, the 3d Brigade of the 1st Division, attacking in the evening, gains a precarious hold on slopes of Mt. Ceco.

     In the British Eighth Army area, V Corps postpones their general assault across the Fiumicino River for 24 hours. The 20th Brigade, Indian 10th Division, makes a preliminary attack toward Mt. Farneto, the dominating feature northwest of Sogliano, pushing through Strigara and gaining the crest before dawn of 7 October.

Weather cancels all bombing operations but 35 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s strafe airfields at Sedhes, Megalo Mikra, Megara, Eleusis, and Tatoi, and 55 P-51s strafe Kalamaki airfield in Greece.

GREECE: Thirty five USAAF Fifteenth Air Force P-38 Lightnings strafe airfields at Sedhes, Megalo Mikra, Megara, Eleusis, and Tatoi while 55 P-51 Mustangs strafe Kalamaki airfield.

BURMA: 20+ Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts bomb troop concentrations in Mawlu and Bilumyo and damage an approach to bridge at Seywa; 8 B-25s attack bridges at Hsenwi, damaging the main bridge but causing little harm to bypass bridges. Transport operations continue on large scale in the CBI.

CHINA: 12 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s bomb Wucbou and attack boats and other targets of opportunity in the Canton area; and 50+ P-40s and P-51 Mustangs on armed reconnaissance over areas of China south of the Yangtze River attack rivercraft, bridges, town areas, troop concentrations and targets of opportunity along the north French Indochina coast.

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt"> Roosevelt's personal representative to China, Major General Patrick J. Hurley, delivers to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek President Roosevelt's reply, in which the President agrees to recall General Joseph Stilwell but declines to put another U.S. officer in command of Chinese troops. General Stilwell will command Chinese troops in Burma and in Yunnan Province of China but will be relieved of responsibility for lend-lease matters.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Fifty plus USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s and P-51 Mustangs on armed reconnaissance over areas of China south of the Yangtze River attack rivercraft, bridges, town areas, troop concentrations and targets of opportunity along the north French Indochina coast.

VOLCANO ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-24s from Saipan Island hit Iwo Jima in harassment attacks during the night of 6/7 October.

MARSHALL ISLANDS: A Seventh Air Force B-24 from Kwajalein Atoll bombs a heavy gun battery on Emidj Island, Jaluit Atoll. During the night of 6/7 October, 3 B-24s bomb Wake Island.

EAST INDIES: Far East Air Forces P-38s hit Kaoe Airfield and shipping near Djailolo on Halmahera Island. In the Ceram Island-Amboina, Ambon Island-Boeroe, Sunda Island area B-25s and P-38s attack Namlea on Buru Island, Waai on Celebes Island, Amahai on Ceram Island, and several small craft.

NEW GUINEA: In Dutch New Guinea, P-47s bomb Kaimana.

U-168 (Type IXC) is sunk at 0130hrs in the Java Sea, at position 06.20S, 111.28E, by a torpedo from the Dutch submarine HNLMS Zwaardvisch (A British T Class construction). 23 dead, 27 survivors. The Zwaardvisch took aboard five survivors, the remaining 22 are passed to a fishing boat with instruction to land them in Japanese controlled territory. This duly occurs and the crew are landed in a village on south coast of Java near to Soerabaja (modern day JogJakarta). The German base commander is notified by the Kempi Tai, and drove, along with the Japanese commander, to see his men. The Japanese commander berated the Germans for allowing themselves to be captured - something a Japanese would never do. (Jim Paterson)

The boat was intercepted, after the allies, through code breaking efforts, learned of its exact position and time of arrival at several navigation points. After that it was a very simple ambush. (Alex Gordon)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: On Angaur Island in the Palau Islands, particularly heavy fire is placed on the Japanese pocket at the northwestern tip of the island, and the 322d Infantry Regiment feints an attack, luring the Japanese into exposed positions.

CANADA: Corvette HMCS West York is commissioned.

Submarine USS Tench is commissioned.

Frigate USS Uniontown is commissioned.

Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-270 was commissioned at New York with LTJG O. T. Fretz, Jr. as her commanding officer. She departed New York, 26 October 1944 for the Southwest Pacific where she operated during the war. She was decommissioned and her Coast Guard crew removed 10 October 1945.

Coast Guard manned Army vessel FS-318 was commissioned at Camden NJ with LT R. S. Graves, USCGR as her first commanding officer. He was succeeded on 29 September l945 by LTJG Richard S. True, USCGR. She departed New York on 21 November 1944 for the Southwest Pacific, where she operated during the war. She was decommissioned on 14 October.

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October 6th, 1945 (SATURDAY)

GERMANY: Munich: The first issue of the centre-left newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung  is published today.

Berlin: Robert H. Jackson (USA), Francois de Menthon (France), Hartley Shawcross (UK) and R. Rudenko (USSR) sign the "Charter of the International Military Tribunal", indicting 24 members of the Nazi government and armed forces, thus paving the way for the Nuremberg trials.

CHINA: 50,000 Japanese troops in North China surrender to the III Amphibious Corps of the United States Marines under the command of Major General Keller E. Rockey.

CANADA: Minesweepers HMCS Wasaga, Kenora and Minas are paid off.

1949   (THURSDAY) 

UNITED STATES: Iva Toguri d'Aquino, aka "Tokyo Rose," is sentenced in San Francisco, California, to ten years imprisonment and fined US$10,000 (US$82,059 in year 2005 dollars) after being convicted for treason. She had broadcast music and Japanese propaganda to American troops in the Pacific during World War II. She is pardoned by President Gerald Ford in 1977 and dies in Chicago, Illinois, on 26 September 2006 at age 90.

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