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1930   (WEDNESDAY) 

ITALY: Near Rome, Major Marinello Nelli of the Regia Aeronautica completes the first official helicopter flight in a twin-rotor aircraft designed by Corrandino D'Ascanio. The craft flew to a height of 59 feet (18 meters) on a flight that lasts more than eight minutes.

1933   (SUNDAY) 

UNITED STATES: The St. Louis, Missouri, chapter of the Friends of New Germany, a pro-Nazi organization, begins operating.

1937   (FRIDAY)

AUSTRIA: Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg spoke again of the German mission of Austria stating, ". . . We will continue to fulfill this mission, not because it is prescribed for us to do so, but of our own free will and upon our own initiative, as the history and spirit of our Fatherland indicate. . . I see no differences which need, separate the capitals, the State Chancelleries, and the people here and over there, so long as the one is willing to leave the other free and undisturbed to manage his own house. . . ."

UNITED KINGDOM: Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain endorses U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Quarantine" speech stating, "In his declaration of the necessity for a return to a belief in the pledged word and the sanctity of treaties he has voiced the convictions of this country as well as of his own, and in his call for a concerted effort in the cause of peace he will have this Government wholeheartedly with him. . . "

1938   (SATURDAY)

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: The Czechoslovak government provides Ruthenian with full autonomy and the region is renamed Carpatho-Ukraine. This region takes on an important new role as the base for Ukrainian nationalist agitation, with the apparent support of the German government. The Polish government attempts to divide the new region between Poland, Hungary, and Romania, but the Germans frustrates all attempts at annexation.

ITALY: The Fascist Grand Council eliminates the last vestige of the old constitution by abolishing the Chamber of Deputies. The legislative body is replaced by a new Chamber of Fasces and Corporations.

October 8th, 1939 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The anti-U-boat mine barrage in the Strait of Dover is completed and sinks U-12 today.
AF: During a patrol flight over the North Sea, a Lockheed Hudson of 224 Squadron of RAF Leuchars (N7217 flown by F./Lt. A. Womersley) destroys a Dornier Do. 18 flying-boat during a patrol over Jutland. This is the first RAF aircraft operating from the UK to shoot down an enemy aircraft.

Naval: Battlecruiser Gneisenau and other ships of the German Navy sortie off Norway to draw the Home Fleet within U-boat and aircraft range. capital ships Hood, Nelson, Repulse, Rodney and Royal Oak, together with the carrier Furious, cruisers and destroyers sail for various positions, but there is no contact.

FRANCE: 15.00 hrs two French airmen named Villey and Casenobe each shoot down an enemy plane, during a combat between 5 Curtiss Hawks of 4 Sqn. 2nd Fighter Group (the "Red Devil Squadron") and 4 Bf 109's. The first French air kills of the war.

The French Air Force orders 200 Bell Model 14 fighters. They are an export version of the Airacobra, powered by a 1150hp Allison V-1710-E4 engine with twelve exhaust stacks on each side rather than the usual six.

GERMANY: Western Poland is annexed to Germany, and the land partitioned into five. Two new Reichsgau are formed: Reichsgau Danzig West Prussia, under the command of Albert Forster Reichsgau Wartheland, under the command of Arthur Greiser The remaining three partitions constituted of surplus lebensraum, two of which were added to the already existing Reichsgau of Silesia and East Prussia. The third remaining partition in Eastern German-occupied Poland was named the General Government and placed under the command of Hans Frank. (Jason Leech)

U-47 under command of Günther Prien set out from Kiel on the soon to be famous attack on the British Fleet at Scapa Flow.

POLAND: Western Poland is annexed to Germany, and the land is partitioned into five gau. Two new Reichsgau are formed: Reichsgau Danzig West Prussia, under the command of Albert Forster Reichsgau Wartheland, under the command of Arthur Greiser The remaining three partitions constituted of surplus lebensraum, two of which are added to the already existing Reichsgau of Silesia and East Prussia. The third remaining partition in Eastern German-occupied Poland is named the General Government and placed under the command of Hans Frank. (Jason Leech)

FINLAND: Voluntary evacuations from municipalities near the Soviet border begin. Some 50 000 people leave their homes.

U.S.S.R.: "Reich Germans" are resettled from the Baltic States to what the Nazis call their racial home. This was agreed to previously in the Soviet-German Agreement.

U.S.A.: Baseball.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The USCG cutter USCGC Campbell joins the U.S. passenger liner SS Iroquois because of the warnings received about an attack on her (see 4 October). Later, the USN destroyers USS Davis (DD-395) and USS Benham (DD-397) also join and the four ships proceed to New York City.

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee takes on board crews of British freighters SS Ashlea and Newton Beech in the South Atlantic and sinks the latter with demolition charges. (Navynews & Jack McKillop)

U-37 sank SS Vistula.

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October 8th, 1940 (TUESDAY)

Battle of Britain: Attack on Rootes' works at Speke, Liverpool.

The Luftwaffe makes a series of raids during the day, and confines their activity almost entirely to London and the south East of England. Shortly before 0900 hours bombs are dropped in the Whitehall area and Government Offices suffer in consequence. The Paymaster General's Office receives a direct hit, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Great Scotland Yard are also damaged. Charing Cross Station District Railway and Tube Station are also targets for the Germans and are closed. During the night raids are continuous and a number of fires are started, the worst of which are at Bermondsey and the LEP Transport premises at Chiswick. At about 0500 hours the Luftwaffe makes a concentrated attack on East Anglia and proceeds northwards. RAF Fighter Command claims 4-2-3 Luftwaffe aircraft while antiaircraft batteries claim 2-0-0. Four Fighter Command aircraft are lost with four pilots missing.

U-58 sank SS Confield in Convoy HX-76.

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October 8th, 1941 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Destroyer HMS Loyal launched.

Destroyer HMS Onslow commissioned.

GERMANY:

U-255 launched.

U-507 and U-657 commissioned.

ROMANIA: By decree, the Romanian government annexes Odessa and the region beyond the Dniester River (Transniestra).

ITALY: Rome: Mussolini calls on the Japanese to pull their weight in the Axis by waging war on Britain.

U.S.S.R.: In the German Army Group South area, the 1st Panzer Army captures Mariupol on the Sea of Azov surrounding the 9th and 18th Soviet Armies. They continue their drive toward Rostov.

In the Army Group Center area, elements of the 2nd Panzer Army captures Orel as heavy rain slows the attacks around Moscow. The 17th Panzer Division captures Bryansk. 18th Panzer Division meets elements of the 113th Infantry Division (2nd Army), completing the encirclement of the 600,000 troops of the Soviet 3rd, 13th and 50th Armies. The encirclement is not strong and the Soviets order withdrawals. 3 and 50 Army move back in good order while 13 Army fights its way east.

CHINA: Chinese troops arrive outside Yuezhou, ending the second battle of Changsha.

NEWFOUNDLAND: Corvette HMCS Camrose departed St. John's for Iceland for Convoy SC-48.

U.S.A.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt sends a letter to the Soviet Union premier Joseph Stalin stating that "I am confident that ways will be found to provide the material and supplies necessary to fight Hitler on all fronts, including your own."

     Organizational provision for guided missiles is made in the U.S. fleet by the establishment of “Special Project Dog” in Utility Squadron Five (VJ-5) at NAS Cape May, New Jersey, to test and operate radio-controlled offensive weapons and to train personnel in their use. VJ-5 is also directed to develop a radio-controlled fighter plane—“aerial ram” or “aerial torpedo”—to be flown into enemy bomber formations and exploded.

ATLANTIC OCEAN:

U-83 fired three torpedoes at a convoy escort, but all three missed.

U-573 fired three torpedoes at a freighter, but all three missed.

While escorting Convoy ON-22 (U.K. to North America), the USN destroyer USS Dallas (DD-199) depth charges a contact (later evaluated as "non-submarine") about 382 nautical miles (708 kilometers) southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland, in position 58.54N, 29.31W.

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October 8th, 1942 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: 

London: An unpleasant quarrel between the British and German governments has led to PoWs being handcuffed in defiance of the Geneva Convention of 1921.

GERMANY first announced that, because of British "brutalities" in the treatment of Germans taken prisoner during a Commando raid on the Channel Island of Sark on 4 October, all 2,190 British prisoners taken in the Dieppe raid would be manacled. Britain promptly retaliated by announcing that an equal number of Germans would be manacled.

During the raid on Sark five Germans were captured, and their hands were tied while they were being taken to the commando's escape boat. When the Germans realized how few their captors were they began to struggle. The commandos, fearful of the alarm being raised, shot three of the prisoners and made off.

The Germans, finding the three bodies with their hands tied behind their backs, assumed the men had been shot in cold blood. An enraged Hitler at once ordered reprisals. The Swiss government, which is the protecting power for both British and German PoWs, now has the task of persuading the two powers to see reason.

Major General Ira C Eaker, Commanding General Eighth Air Force sends a letter to Major General George E Stratemeyer, Chief of the Air Staff in Washington, indicating plans for the development of a highly-skilled intruder force capable of using bad weather as a cloak for small blind-bombing operations. These missions are also to serve the purpose of keeping the enemy from resting during periods of bad weather when big strategic missions cannot be flown.

Trawler HMS Anticosti commissioned.

BELGIUM: German decrees are issued, ordering registration for war work. These effect all males between 18 and 50 and females between 21 and 35. These decrees indicate that Germany's manpower needs are approaching a crisis situation.

     During the night of 8/9 October, six RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off Ostend without loss.

NETHERLANDS: During the night of 8/9 October, RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in two area: 22 aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands and five lay mines off Texel Island (one aircraft lost).

FRANCE: During the night of 8/9 October, RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off six ports: five aircraft mine off Brest, four off St. Nazaire (1 aircraft lost) and three off Lorient.

GERMANY: The German High Command abandons their attempt to storm Stalingrad, U.S.S.R., and announces a plan to reduce the city by heavy artillery. The change in program is adopted to avoid "unnecessary sacrifice" of German blood.

     During the day, one RAF Bomber Command Mosquito is dispatched to Saarbrücken and bombs a factory believed to be in the nearby town of Bous.

    Major Roy W. Evans, commanding officer of the 335th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, USAAF Eighth Air Force, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf 109 near Oldenburg at 1455 hours. He scores one more victory to end the war with six kills. (Skip Guidry)

U-275 and U-535 launched.

U-643 commissioned.

POLAND: The Polish Home Army uses mines to destroy Warsaw's main rail yards.

NORWAY: Trondheim: Josef Terboven, the Reich commissioner for Norway, arrived in the port of Trondheim today, and by mid-afternoon ten people had been shot for sabotage and 700 arrested. The port is used as a German naval base from which attacks on British convoys to Russia are mounted. Norwegian resistance fighters are believed to have sabotaged military communications.

Terboven, acting under a state of emergency, has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew, taken over the railways and announced death penalties for any attempts to interfere with work, supplies or communications.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24s fail to reach the target at Bengasi, Libya because of bad weather. The Hal Bombardment Squadron manages to attack shipping at Bengasi.

U-179 (Type IX D2) is sunk in the South Atlantic near Cape Town, South Africa, at position 33.28S, 17.05W, by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Active. 61 dead (all crew lost). (Alex Gordon)

CHINA: Brigadier General Claire Chennault, Commanding General China Air Task Force of the USAAF Fourteenth Air Force, delivers a letter to Wendell L. Willkie for U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt asking for increased authority and air power in order to destroy the Japanese Air Force in China, then attack Japanese Empire. President Roosevelt had asked Wilkie to make an airplane flight around the world as his special envoy to show the world that although America is engaged in a vigorous political debate at home, she is united in her desire to combat fascism throughout the world.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Torrential rains slow the plans of the Marines on Guadalcanal to cross the Matanikau River. Company H of the 2nd Btn, 5th Marines finds itself between the 9th Company of the 4th IJA regiment and the balance of the regiment. Effective company level leadership allows Company H to recover. The main attack by the Marines is postponed one day as night approaches. The 5th Marine Regiment and raiders reduce the Japanese bridgehead on the east bank in costly fighting. When the Japanese plans for counteroffensive are discovered, Major General Alexander Vandegrift, Commanding General 1st Marine Division, changes the plan of attack, Instead of driving toward Kokumbona and the Poha, marines are to raid the Point Cruz area in force and return to the Lunga perimeter.

NEW GUINEA: On the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, the Japanese withdrawal northeast across the Owen Stanley Range slows as they prepare to make a stand at Templeton Crossing north of Myola. The Australian 25th Brigade, 7th Division, makes contact with this rear-guard force. The role of the U.S. 126th and 128th Infantry Regiments, 32d Infantry Division, is defined as “to attack the Japanese at Buna from the east and southeast.”

B-25s bomb the Buna area while A-20 Havocs bomb the Buna-Kokoda trail.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Eleventh Air Force sends 9 B-24 Liberators, 3 B-17 Flying Fortresses, and 12 P-38 Lightnings to attack Kiska Island Harbor installations (starting fires in Main Camp), and strafe AA positions, hangars, a corvette (silencing her guns), and a freighter.

CANADA: Destroyer HMCS Algonquin (ex-HMS Valentine) laid down.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "Flying Tigers" is released today. Directed by David Miller, this war drama stars John Wayne, John Carroll, Anna Lee and Paul Kelly; Richard Loo, who appeared as a Japanese officer in just about every WWII film, appears in an uncredited role. This film is a "Hollywoodized" version of the activities of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in China in early WWII. It is nominated for 3 technical Academy Awards.

Washington: German saboteurs Heinrich Heimack, Edward Keiling, Herman Neubauer, Richard Quirin and Werner Thiel are executed in the electric chair at Washington D.C. Jail for sabotage. They had been tried by a military commission appointed by President Roosevelt on July 8, 1942. (Russell Folsom)

Destroyer USS Glennon commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN:

U-125 sank SS Glendene.

U-159 sank SS Clan MacTavish.

U-172 sank SS City of Athens.

U-179 sank SS John Carter Rose. After sinking the John Carter Rose, the crew of U-201 gave the shipwrecked survivors provisions and bandages. This was four weeks after the issuing of the Laconia order, in which Admiral Dönitz directly forbade U-boats to undertake any rescue activity of this kind.

U-68 sank SS Swiftsure, Koumoundouros, Gaasterkerk and Sarthe.

U-172 was depth charged by the corvette HMS Rock Rose but suffered only slight damage.

U-179 sunk in the South Atlantic near Cape Town, South Africa, in position 33.28S, 17.05E, by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Active. 61 dead (all hands lost).

Worldwide: Roman Catholics observe a day of prayer for Poland.

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October 8th, 1943 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Bomber Command sends the Vickers Wellington bomber into action for the final time when aircraft of Nos. 300 and 432 Squadrons are used. In total Wellington's based in the United Kingdom have dropped 42,440-tons of bombs. (22)

The Eighth Air Force flies three missions.

* The VIII Air Support Command flies Mission 80: 144 B-26B Marauders are dispatched to Vendeville Airfield at Lille and Chievres Airfields in France; the mission is abandoned due to thick haze and generally unsuitable weather.

* The VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 111: 4 locations in Germany are targeted. On this mission the Eighth Air Forces uses, for the first time, airborne transmitters (Carpet equipment) to jam German radar. The B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24s are escorted by 274 P-47 Thunderbolts; they claim 12-2-4 Luftwaffe aircraft; 30 bombers and 3 P-47s are lost. 

- 105 B-17s bomb the shipyard at Breman at 1505-1513 hours; they claim 42-2-28 Luftwaffe aircraft; 9 B-17s are lost. 

- 53 B-17s bomb the industrial area at Breman at 1512-1513 hours; they claim 24-7-17 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-17s are lost.

- 43 B-24s bomb the U-boat yards at Vegesack at 1622-1624 hours; they claim 17-1-7 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 B-24s are lost.

- 156 B-17s bomb the city of Bremen and targets of opportunity at 1505-1527 hours; they claim 84-12-33 Luftwaffe aircraft; 14 B-17s are lost. 

* VIII Bomber Command Mission 112: 2 B-17s drop 266,336 leaflets over Rennes, France, at 0005-0011 hours, 9 October.

RAF: No. 453 Squadron (Spitfire) flying from Perranporth, Cornwall, intercepts eight Me110s over the Channel, shooting down five of them, two fall to Flt. Lt. Russell Leith.

FRANCE: During the night of 8/9 October, RAF Bomber Command Stirlings lay mines. Ten Stirlings lay mines in the River Gironde and six lay mines off La Pallice.

GERMANY: Allied air raids on Bremen and Vegesack (with heavy Allied losses). (Glenn Stenberg)

     During the night of 8/9 October, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 504 aircraft, 282 Lancasters, 188 Halifaxes, 26 Wellingtons and eight Mosquitos, to bomb Hannover; 457 bomb the target. This is the last Bomber Command raid in which Wellingtons took part. 300 (Polish) and 432 (Canadian) Squadrons provided the 26 Wellingtons which operated on this night; they all returned safely. The German controller guesses correctly that Hannover is the target and many night fighters arrived before the attack is over. Twenty seven aircraft, 14 Lancasters and 13 Halifaxes, are lost, 5.4 per cent of the force. Conditions over Hannover are clear and the Pathfinders are finally able to mark the centre of the city accurately; a most concentrated attack follows with a creepback of only 2 miles (3,2 kilometers), all within the built-up area. This is probably Hannover's worst attack of the war. A second attack is made against Bremen with 119 aircraft, 95 Stirlings, 17 Halifaxes and seven Lancasters, dispatched; 107 bomb the target with the loss of three Stirlings, 2.5 per cent of the force. This is a diversionary raid on a larger scale than ever before. The bombing is scattered but this is a subsidiary aim of the operation. Mosquitos are also active with eight hitting the Klocknerwerke synthetic oil refinery at Castrop Rauxel, six bombing Berlin and one each attacking Duren and Oldenburg.

On a bomber escort mission, the USAAF 334th squadron are bringing up the van. They see over thirty Luftwaffe aircraft above and in the sun. The US fighters orbit to gain altitude but are continually bounced by sections of four to eight Germans. This breaks up the squadron and draws it away from the bombers. No enemy aircraft attack the bombers.

During the fighting Ralph Hofer chases a Bf 109 at 400 feet above the Zuider Zee, trying to get it off another P-47. The P-47 was shot down, but Hofer shot down the Bf 109. Duane Besson shoots down two Bf 109s, bringing his score to six.  Maj. Roy W. Evans, CO of the 335 FS/4 FG, USAAF, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf 109 near Oldenburg at 1455 hours. He scores one more victory to end the war with six kills. (Skip Guidry and Perry Stewart) See

www.fourthfightergroup.com/resource/tidbits.html

ITALY: The British 8th Army captures Larino and Guglionesi as the advance on Biferno, Italy. The US 5th Army finishes its advance to the Volturno River and begins planning the next attack for October 12.

The Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force and RAF Desert Air Force aircraft hit a bridge at Minturno and a road junction and military concentration at Termoli.

GREECE: Clashes take place between pro- and anti-communist guerrillas leading to civil war over the next six years. (Glenn Steinberg)

Twelfth Air Force aircraft attack targets in Greece. XII Bomber Command B-24s bomb Tatoi and Eleusis Airfields at Athens, airfields at Kastelli and Heraklion Airfields on Crete, and Maritsa Airfield on Rhodes; B-25 Mitchells also hit Eleusis airfield; P-38s fly convoy cover, patrols, and sweeps over the Aegean Sea.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Nine USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators, supported by 20 P-40s, bomb Gia Lam Airfield outside Hanoi.

FAR EAST: 9 Fourteenth Air Force B-24s, supported by 20 P-40s, bomb Gia Lam Airfield.

CHINA: While on ferry mission over the Hump, 3 B-24s bomb Tengchung, scoring hits on warehouses, barracks, and a HQ area.

AUSTRALIA: The US Army forms the 5217th Reconnaissance Battalion, Special, Filipino personnel at Camp Tabragalba, Australia, The unit left Australia the same day to arrive in New Guinea 21  November 1943. The unit will be redesignated 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Special on 20 November 1944 in New Guinea. (Nick Minecci)

Minesweeper HMAS Cowra commissioned.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Thirteenth Air Force B-25s and P-40s sink a barge off the west coast of Choiseul Island.  

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: A single Fifth Air Force B-24 on armed reconnaissance bombs Cape Gloucester Airfield on New Britain Island in the Bismarck Archipelago.

PACIFIC OCEAN: Two USN submarines sink two IJA cargo ships.  

U.S.A.: Destroyer escorts USS Howard F Clark and Silverstein laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: An escort of Convoy SC-143 (Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, to U.K.) and three German Type VIIC submarines tracking the convoy are sunk by aircraft in the North Atlantic.

The escort Polish destroyer ORP Orkan (ex HMS Myrmidon) sunk by U-378. The destroyer is struck by a torpedo and sinks about 578 nautical miles south-southwest of Rekjavik, Iceland in position 56.30N, 26.26W. There are only 23 survivors of the crew of 198.

RCAF Sunderland patrol a/c from RCAF 423 Sqn attacked and sank U-610, KptLt Walter Freiherr Von Freyberg-Eisenberg-Allmendingen, CO, in the North Atlantic, in position 55.45N, 024.33W. Although 15 men were seen in the water after U-610 was sunk, no survivors were recovered and her crew of 51 men was lost.

U-419 (Type VIIC) is sunk in the North Atlantic, at position 56.31N, 27.05W, by depth charges from a British Liberator aircraft (Sqdn. 86/R). 48 dead, 1 survivor.

U-610 (Type VIIC) is sunk in the North Atlantic, at position 55.45N, 24.33W, by depth charges from a Canadian Sunderland aircraft (RCAF Sqdn. 423/J). 51 dead (all crew lost)

U-643 (Type VIIC) is sunk in the North Atlantic, at position 56.14N, 26.55W, by depth charges from 2 British Liberator aircraft (Sqdns. 86/Z and 120/T) . 30 dead, 18 survivors in captivity. (Alex Gordon)

The commander of U-603 became so ill that he was incapacitated, leaving the U-boat unable to act against the enemy.

The commander of U-631 broke his hand in an accident during patrol.

U-762 was bombed by a Liberator aircraft from 120 RAF Squadron. Three crewmembers were wounded, and the boat was slightly damaged.

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October 8th, 1944 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Two new ministries, of social insurance and civil aviation are formed.

Submarines HMS Sleuth and Taciturn commissioned.

FRANCE: Minesweeper HMCS Mulgrave, a Bangor-class minesweeper (1941-42 program) damaged by a ground mine in Seine Bay and was beached near Le Havre. She was towed from Le Havre on 03 Nov 44 to Portsmouth, where she was declared a Constructive Total Loss. She was paid off on 07 Jun 45. Mulgrave was broken up for scrap at Llanelly, Wales, in 1947. (Alex Gordon and Dave Shirlaw)

In U.S. Third Army’s XX Corps area, the 2d Battalion, 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division, fights from house to house within Maizières-lès-Metz for some time to come without clearing the rest of the town. Confused and bitter fighting continues at Fort Driant without much change in positions. In XII Corps area, after an hour of preparatory bombardment, corps begins a concerted drive toward the Seille River at 0615 hours. The 6th Armored Division, making the main effort, takes Moivron, where it is relieved by the 80th Infantry Division; in conjunction with the 80th Infantry Division, they envelop and take Jeandelincourt, clear Bois de Chenicourt, though the Germans retain the town of Chenicourt, and seize Arraye-et-Han. To the left, 80th Infantry Division’s 318th Infantry Regiment takes Manoncourt; the 319th Infantry seizes Lixières, Mt Toulon, and Sivry; and the 317th Infantry clears Mt St Jean. The 35th Infantry Division closes up the Seille River on its left flank, taking Ajoncourt and Fossieux; USAAF Ninth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts assist with attacks on the heights between Moivron and Jeandelincourt.

     In U.S. Seventh Army’s VI Corps area, the 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3d Infantry Division moves from Vagney northeast to Sapois.

     In the French First Army’s II Corps area, the 3d Algerian Division gains the crest of Longegoutte heights after several days of bitter fighting.

GERMANY: Aachen: US troops of the 1st and 30th Infantry Divisions, US Ninth Army (Collins) start to move in on the city in a pincer operation. The Germans are battling to maintain a corridor into the city.

In U.S. First Army’s XIX Corps area, the 30th Infantry Division’s hopes of making a speedy junction with the VII Corps at Wuerselen arc soon dashed by German opposition on the east flank. The 119th Infantry Regiment, following the Wurm River valley southward, gets 1.5 miles (2,4 kilometers) beyond Herzogenrath; the 120th Infantry, whose relief at Kerkrade has been completed by the 29th Infantry Division, is committed between the 119th and 117th Infantry Regiments and takes two hamlets; the 117th Infantry, upon reaching the railroad west of Mariadorf, is counterattacked strongly by fresh German forces from Mariadorf, part of whom push to Alsdorf, where they are halted. Both sides suffer heavy losses and the 117th Infantry pulls back to the edge of Alsdorf. Combat Command A, 2d Armored Division, seizes Oidtweiler, northeast of Alsdorf. In the VII Corps area, the 1st Infantry Division begins an attack to encircle Aachen in conjunction with XIX Corps: while the 18th Infantry Regiment pushes northward through Verlautenheide, the 26th Infantry is getting into position to drive through the heart of the city from east; the 16th Infantry holds a defensive line near Eilendorf. Tanks and tank destroyers arrive by nightfall to help the assault regiments of the 9th Infantry Division to break out of the Huertgen Forest toward Schmidt. In the V Corps area, the 28th Infantry Division encounters outlying positions of the German’s West Wall defenses.

U-3524 laid down.

WESTERN EUROPE:  A revision and elaboration (from 28 September-8 October) of the Ninth Air Force interdiction program against railroads connected with the Rhine River results in the issuance of a new interdiction program; it includes rail lines further to the E and requires attacks by all four Tactical Air Commands of the Ninth Air Force, plus aid from the British Second Tactical Air Force. Meanwhile, 300+ Ninth Air Force B-26s and A-20s, with fighter escort, hit strongpoints and bridges over wide areas of eastern France and western Germany; and fighters support ground forces of the US VII, XV, XIX, and XX Corps in eastern France and western Germany, and attack airfields, railroads, and numerous military targets in forward areas.

Allied attacks along the Western Front meet stiff German resistance. The sectors of the Canadian II Corps and the US XII and XIX Corps meet the most serious German action. 

FINLAND: Fighting in both Kemi and Tornio comes to an end today as Germans withdraw, leaving behind two encircled battalions. Some Germans manage to reach their own lines in groups and individually, but the rest are taken POWs.

But this certainly was *not* the last part of Finland held by the Germans. They were slowly withdrawing to north and devastating the countryside as they went, and it won't be until late April 1945 when the last German soldier had left the Finnish soil.

In all, the Finns suffered in the Tornio operation 189 KIA, 1,025 WIA and 25 MIA. Major General Aaro Pajari received, for a second time, the "Mannerheim Cross" on 16 October 1944, for the success of the 3rd division in Tornio. (Pajari had received that highest Finnish military decoration for the first time in 1941). (Sami Korhonen and Mikko Härmeinen)

Kemi at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia is retaken by Finnish troops. This is the last part of Finland held by the Germans.

U-242 laid a field of 12 mines NW of Torkalla, but without result.

ITALY: Pte Richard Henry Burton (b.1923), Duke of Wellington's Regt., attacked one machine-gun nest and went on to silence two others, then repelled two counter-attacks. (Victoria Cross)

Bad weather forces heavy and medium bombers to cancel missions; XII Fighter Command fighters are airborne to support ground forces over the battle area and abort all missions.

In the U.S. Fifth Army’s IV Corps area, Task Force 92 reaches the slopes of Mt. Cauala but is forced back by German fire. In the II Corps area, the 34th Infantry Division continues their attack on the Monterumici hill mass, the 135th Infantry Regiment working slowly forward from the and the 133d from west. The 362d Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division, gets elements to the crest of Mt. Castellari, during the night of 8/9 October; the 361st Infantry Regiment makes substantial progress to the east, clearing the villages east of Mt. Castellari, cutting Highway 65 at La Fortuna, and pushing to the edge of the Livergnano escarpment, a feature strongly favored by nature for defense. The 338th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division, forces the Germans back to Mt. delle Formiche; the 337th Infantry is still unable to progress appreciably from Hill 566. The 349th Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division, upon reaching crest of Hill 587, finds it undefended and elements seize II Faichetto Hill. In the British XIII Corps area, the 3d Brigade of the 1st Division gains the summit of Mt. Ceco, but the Germans retains the heights nearby. On the right flank of the corps, the 6th Armoured Division thrusts along Highway 67 to the edge of Portico but cannot force an entrance; elements probe toward Tredozio.

     In the British Eighth Army’s V Corps area, since the 20th Brigade of the Indian 10th Division is still held up on Mt. Farneto, the 10th Brigade is committed to outflank the Germans, some elements pressing toward Montecodruzzo on the left and others taking St. Paola on the right. The Indian 25th Brigade takes St. Lorenzo and drives toward Roncofreddo. The 46th Division is working toward Longiano.

GREECE: Samos in the Aegean falls to British troops as British commandos swarm Corinth, the Peloponnesian gateway to mainland Greece. Units of the British 9th Commando land at Nauplion. British forces from Araxos have reconnoitered along the north coast of the Peloponnesus to Corinth, which is free of Germans.

BURMA: 20+ Tenth Air Force P-47s hit targets of opportunity in the Mawhun and Manyut areas, knock out a bridge at Seywa, and bomb railroad tracks in northern Burma; 5 B-25s damage a bridge and score hits on the other bridge approaches at Namhkai and knock out 2 bridges at Wuntho and Kawlin.

CHINA: 12 Fourteenth Air Force P-40s and P-51 Mustangs hit locomotives, trucks, and river traffic at Yuncheng and northeast of Pengtse.

SOUTH CHINA SEA: A U.S. submarine sinks a IJA transport.

JAPAN: Photo missions to Paramushiru, Matsuwa, Onnekotan and Shasukotan Islands in the Kurile Islands by the Eleventh Air Force turn back due to weather.

MARCUS ISLAND: 3 Saipan Island-based Seventh Air Force B-24s hit Pagan and Marcus Islands. 24 P-47s hit buildings, beach defenses, and gun positions on Pagan Island.

WAKE ISLAND: During the day and night of 8/9 October B-24s from the Marshall Islands bomb Wake Island.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: The Australian 36th Battalion, 6th Brigade, 5th Division, lands at Cape Hoskins on the north coast of New Britain Islands. The battalion is assigned to the U.S. 185th Infantry Regiment.

EAST INDIES: Far East Air Forces P-47s bomb Amahai and Boela on Ceram Island. In the Moluccas Islands, P-38s hit Dodinga Bay barge hideouts, supplies and targets of opportunity along Wasile and Kaoe Bays on Halmahera Island.

NEW GUINEA: In Dutch New Guinea, B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers hit Sorong, Doom Island, runways and targets of opportunity at Efman and Samate, and gun positions, bivouacs, and supplies at Simora Point.

New York: Wendell Wilkie, the Republican politician who acted as Roosevelt's special envoy, dies aged 52.

* The 30-minute radio program "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" debuts on CBS radio at 1800 hours Eastern on this Sunday sponsored by International Silver. The show focused on the comic situations of a young family that was based on the real-life family of show founders and stars Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. Initially, two actors portrayed the Nelson children, David and Ricky, but in April 1949, the two sons began appearing on the show. The show remains on the radio until June 1954 and is also on ABC-TV from 1952 to 1966.

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October 8th, 1945 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: RNAS Machrinaish, 806 RN Sqn, Seafire a/c #NN132, S/Lt (A) John Harold Johnston RNVR; Seafire a/c #NN600, A/S/Lt (A) Peter Lewis Norton RNVR; both Canadians, Lost flying accident, collided while beating-up a trawler near Pladds Point SW, coast of Scotland.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: General Yamashita is charged with allowing his troops to commit "brutal atrocities."

U.S.A.: President Truman announced that the secret of the atomic bomb would be shared only with Britain and Canada.

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