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1931   (FRIDAY)

CHINA: The government asks for an immediate League of Nations Council meeting in view of "serious information regarding further aggressive military operations upon the part of Japanese armed forces in Manchuria."

JAPAN: Japan rejects the Chinese request of 5 October 1931 and asks for direct negotiation on fundamental points. The Japanese also protest the anti-Japanese movement in China stating that the boycott is not spontaneous but an "instrument of national policy under direction of Nationalist Party, which, in view of peculiar political organization in China, is inseparable in function from government."

UNITED STATES: The United States urges the League of Nations "to assert all pressure and authority within its competence toward regulating the action of China and Japan," and says it "acting independently through its diplomatic representatives will endeavor to reinforce what the League does."

1934   (TUESDAY)

FRANCE: Operating out of Hungary, a Macedonian revolutionary, working with Croat revolutionaries, assassinates King Alexander of Yugoslavia and Louis Barthou, the French Foreign Secretary, in Marseilles. The French and Yugoslavs are holding talks to develop stronger ties to deal with the growing power of Germany. The assassinations result in deportations from Hungary and Yugoslavia and threatens to lead to war between the two countries until the League of Nations negotiates a settlement to the crisis in December. Upon the death of his father, Peter II became the new king and Alexander's cousin, Prince Paul, serves as the chief regent.

1937   (SATURDAY)

JAPAN: The government issues a statement denying that action in China violates existing treaties in any way whatever stating, "The League of Nations regards Japan's action in China as violation of the Nine Power Treaty and the Anti-War Pact. The United States published a statement to the same effect. This was due to misunderstanding of Japan's true intentions."

1938   (SUNDAY)

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: The Hungarian government begins negotiations with the Czechoslovak government regarding the future of Slovakia. Representatives of the two governments fail to reach an agreement, which leads to serious fighting on their frontiers. As a result, the German and Italian governments decide to intervene and issue a joint decision in November, which accords the Hungarians a strip of territory in southern Slovakia.

October 9th, 1939 (MONDAY)

Armed merchant cruiser HMS Carnarvon Castle commissioned.

FRANCE: Montgomery issues his Divisional Operation Instruction No. 1 to bring 3 Div. to operational readiness, eventually.

GERMANY: Hitler issues war directive number six, ordering preparations for "Plan Yellow" - an attack on Holland, Belgium and France.
Führer Directive #6 for the Conduct of the War. 
(i) No time should be lost in going over to the offensive should it become clear that Britain and France are not disposed to bringing the war to an end. Further delay will reduce the confidence of neutral nations in ultimate German success. 
(ii) An offensive will be planned on the northern flank of the Western front through the Low Countries, to be launched at the earliest possible moment in the greatest possible strength. The aim is to defeat the French Army and its allies and to gain territory to serve as a base for the prosecution of the air and sea war against Britain. The exact timing is dependent on the readiness of the mobile forces required and prevailing weather conditions. 
(iii) Apart from these preparations the Wehrmacht must be ready at all times to meet any Anglo-French movement into Belgium or Holland as far forward as possible. 
(iv) All preparations should be camouflaged such that they appear to be precautionary measures in response to increasing enemy strength on the frontiers. (Marc Roberts)

Der Adler reports from the Luftwaffe: "...we took off from an airfield in north-western Germany for out first attack on units of the British navy operating in the North Sea. ...we flew for hours and hours across the sea. An autumn hurricane raced over the North Sea and lashed the waves as high as houses. It seemed as if we had become the plaything of the elements."

"After several hours we were recalled by radio. Other aircraft had preceded us into the attack and the British fleet had sheered off. Unfortunately, on the return flight the wind was blowing straight into out noses, and we ought to have sighted the land long ago. But as far as the eye could reach, all we saw was water - water - sky - clouds - water. My flight mechanic crawled forward to me and said frankly: "Lieutenant, I don't believe we will ever get home again. But for the time being we still have enough fuel." At least that was one comfort.

Slowly it began to get dark. Then finally a narrow dark strip cropped up on the horizon: land, land at last! Now we could begin to imagine how explorers and seafarers must have felt when they finally saw land again. It was high time too, damn it! With our last drop of fuel we landed in darkness at our base. We had gotten a small foretaste of the air war against England, the battle in the Atlantic."

U-351, U-352, U-353, U-354, U-651, U-652, U-653, U-654, U-655, U-656, U-657, U-658, U-659, U-660, U-661, U-662, U-701, U-702, U-703, U-704, U-705, U-706, U-751, U-752, U-753, U-754, U-755, U-756, U-757, U-758, U-759, U-760, U-761, U-762 ordered.

FINLAND: Helsinki: The Finnish negotiator Juho Paasikivi receives his instructions from government. As the cabinet at Helsinki wants to stay firmly in control, Paasikivi is given virtually no other powers but to find out what the Soviets want. Paasikivi was to stress that Finland will defend her neutrality by all means available and reject all proposals not befitting Finland's neutrality and political situation. Military co-operation pact, border changes, military bases and naval stations were to be rejected. The islands on eastern Gulf of Finland (with the expection of Suursaari/Gogland) could be discussed, if the Soviet Union is ready to exchange territories.

This all was far from what Stalin had in mind. At this point the Soviet *minimum* demands were:

1) In Karelian Isthmus Finland was to hand over southern parts of the Province of Viipuri (this would include the southern end of the Finnish main defence line, also known as the Mannerheim line).

2) On eastern Gulf of Finland, Finland would hand over the islands of Lavansaari, Peninsaari and Seiskari.

3) In far north, Finland would hand over western half of the Kalastajansaarento (Rybachi) peninsula.

4) Soviet Union would receive naval and air force bases in Hanko peninsula (in southern Finland) and in the island of Suursaari on Gulf of Finland.

5) Finland was to agree not to fortify the Ahvenanmaa (Aland) islands (on Baltic Sea) without Soviet agreement, and to give the Soviet Union the right to control the agreement by a naval commission.

Stalin was willing to exchange the wanted territories for a swathe of Soviet northern Karelia.

As can be seen, the Soviet and Finnish positions were far from each other. As the negotiations progressed, both sides made some concessions, but the two sticking points were to be the border changes in Karelian Isthmus and the base at Hanko. Finland was never willing to give over as much territory in Karelian Isthmus as the Soviets wanted. A Soviet base at Hanko was absolutely unacceptable to Finns, while the Soviets considered the base an absolute necessity.

Finland and the Soviet Union also had a very different attitude towards the negotiations. Finns were afraid that any significant concessions would only lead to greater Soviet demands later. It was better to stay firm and not to make any compromises that would give the Soviets a toehold in Finland. It was not believed that Stalin would risk a war, especially when winter was coming. Not everybody shared this optimism. Paasikivi, Mannerheim and Finance Minister Väinö Tanner were not so sure of Stalin's unwillingness to invade, and advocated a more flexible attitude. The leading advocates of uncompromising line were Foreign Minister Eljas Erkko (Paasikivi later, rather uncharitably, dubbed the Winter War 'Erkko's war') and Minister of Defence Juho Niukkanen.

Stalin, on the other hand, originally expected Finland to go the way of the Baltic republics, to succumb rapidly to all Soviet demands. The Finnish intransigence puzzled him and made him suspicious. Stalin, who always counted the divisions, could not believe Finland was resisting him without foreign backing. This lead to the later Soviet propaganda that Britain and France (Germany was thrown in after 1941) had encouraged the foolish Finns to reject the perfectly reasonable and moderate Soviet wishes. For Stalin, neutrality and independence was a luxury not meant for the small states.

The Soviet attitude was also aggravated by badly flawed intelligence. Wildly over-optimistic reports from their agents had led the Soviet leadership to believe Finland was on verge of social revolution. On the moment the Red Army marched in, the oppressed Finnish masses would rise and welcome them with open arms. The Finnish Army was not a factor - only nine poorly equipped divisions of demoralized reservists against the might and revolutionary fervour of the Red Army.

All things considered, it was no wonder the negotiations led nowhere.

U.S.S.R.: Isvestia states that "the government of the Soviet Union and the government of Germany undertook the task of establishing peace and order on the territory of the former Poland and to give to the peoples inhabiting that territory a peaceful existence which would correspond to their national characteristics."

U.S.A.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in memorandum for the Acting Secretary of the Navy, expresses displeasure with "the slowness of getting the East Coast, Caribbean, and Gulf Patrol under way," the "lag between the making of contacts and the follow-up of the contact," and the weakness of the liaison between the Navy, the Coast Guard and the State Department. The Chief Executive emphasizes that "in this whole patrol business time is of the essence and loss of contact with surface ships will not be tolerated." Roosevelt urges that patrol planes and naval or Coast Guard ships "may report the sighting of any submarine or suspicious surface ship in plain English."

The first generator at Boulder (later Hoover) Dam began transmitting electricity to Los Angeles.

Destroyer USS Woolsey laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: A US Cargo ship, the City of Flint, has been captured by the German battleship Deutschland as part of efforts to damage British trade. The Germans searched the ship and seized her when found supplies for Britain which they said were "contraband" under the Prize Rules for war at sea. Now the City of Flint is headed for the Russian port of Murmansk with a German Prize crew, which is hoping eventually to bring her to a German port.

The British Northern Patrol continues operations between the Shetlands, Faeroes, and Iceland. The light cruiser HMS Belfast successfully intercepts the German liner SS Cap Norte which is trying to return to Germany disguised as a neutral vessel. The liner is boarded and sent under armed guard to a British port. Cap Norte is the largest enemy merchant ship intercepted to date and under Admiralty law HMS Belfast's crew received "prize money" in the form of a cash gratuity for her capture. The ship is renamed Empire Trooper by the British.

HMS Ark Royal is redeployed to Freetown to operate off the African coast in the hunt for the German commerce raider Graf Spee. The carrier is assigned to Force K, and sails with the battlecruiser HMS Renown to the South Atlantic. Today aircraft from Ark Royal spot the German tanker Altmark, which supplies the Graf Spee. The tanker is disguised as the US vessel Delmar, which fools the British into passing her.

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October 9th, 1940 (WEDNESDAY)

RAF Bomber Command: 108 aircraft raid the battleship Tirpitz in dry dock at Wilhelmshaven.

Battle of Britain: Airfields in the south-east form today's main targets.

Maidstone is attacked by fighter-bombers is daylight, 87 buildings being damaged, and using cloud cover a single raider managed to damage English Electric's Stafford factory.

The weather is cloudy in the Channel with rain in northern France and the Straits of Dover. During the day, many ineffectual attacks are made upon London, but on two occasions in the afternoon Luftwaffe aircraft penetrate the London area and drop bombs, mostly in the Eastern and South-Eastern Districts.

A bomb falls on St. Paul's Cathedral in the early morning, exploding inside the roof and severely damaging the High Altar and the East Ham Memorial Hospital is hit, involving some casualties, and some damage is done to communications and dock-side property.

Towns in South and South-East England are also attacked during the daylight, and some damage is done to property and casualties caused; an attack is also made on the English Electric Works at Stafford, causing only slight damage. A feature of the German's daylight attacks is low level bombing and machine-gunning, particularly during the dusk period. Night operations against London commence soon after  dark, and most districts of the city are attacked during the night, particular attention being paid to railway communications which suffer some damage. A few fires are started, but are brought quickly under control. Elsewhere, the night raids are fairly widespread over the Southern half of England and South Wales, but no material damage appears to have been done, nor are the casualties heavy. RAF Fighter Command claims 4-4-5 Luftwaffe aircraft; one RAF fighter is lost but the pilot is safe.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-103 sighted Convoy SC-6 and sank SS Delphin and SS Zannes Gounaris and damaged SS Graigwen in Convoy SC-6. After the successful attack at 2200 hrs the boat was depth charged by a convoy escort.

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October 9th, 1941 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

Destroyer HMS Onslaught launched.

Destroyer HMS Southwold commissioned.

Trawler HMS Anticosti laid down.

GERMANY: Adolf Hitler announces that the war in the East, for all intents and purposes, has already been decided in favour of the Reich. Otto Dietrich, Chancellor Adolf Hitler's press chief, announces to war correspondents: "For all military purposes Soviet Russia is done with."

U-215, U-512 launched.

U-334, U-591 commissioned.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet Army reserves move into defensive positions on the direct approaches to Moscow. The 1st Guard Rifle Corps is committed at Mtsensk and temporarily stops the tanks of General Heinz Guederian's 2nd Panzer Army from moving closer to Moscow.

EUROPE: Turkey signs a trade treaty with Germany to supply raw materials in exchange for manufactured goods. 

AUSTRALIA: Minesweeper HMAS Toowoomba commissioned.

U.S.A.:  President Roosevelt asks Congress to allow US merchant ships to be armed and to repeal various sections of the Neutrality Act.

" I recommend the repeal of section 6 of the act of 4 November 1939, which prohibits the arming of American-flag ships engaged in foreign commerce."

     The Japanese ambassador to the U.S. sends the following message to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo: " This morning, the 9th, I called on (U.S. Secretary of State Cordell) Hull and relayed the matter contained in your instructions and at the same time brought up the points discussed at the White House on 3 September. The Secretary, in reply, merely repeated that non-discriminatory treatment should extend over the entire Pacific area. He added that geographical proximity, etc., could be interpreted in many ways. He said that he would have Ballantine and others make a detailed reply to me later after the papers I submitted were carefully perused and studied. (Hamilton and Ballantine are supposed to call on me this afternoon.) Referring to the matter of evacuating or stationing of troops in China, I carefully and in detail described the political situation in China from the Japanese viewpoint and pointed out that stationing of our troops in certain parts of China was absolutely essential. I requested that this point be given a reconsideration in this light."

The motion picture "Texas" is released today. Directed by George Marshall, this western stars Claire Trevor, William Holden, Glenn Ford and Edgar Buchanan. The plot has two Virginia buddies heading for Texas and then splitting up. Years later, one has become a cattle rustler and the other a cattleman. To add romance, both compete for Claire Trevor's affections.

Submarine USS Untamed laid down.

Heavy cruiser USS Quincy laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: By chance U-71 met U-204, U-83 and U-372 some 500 miles off Spain.

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October 9th, 1942 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: London: The US Eighth Army Air Force has recently adopted big daylight bombing operations of a kind virtually abandoned by the RAF in favour of night attacks.

To emphasize the difference in style, the US commander, Brigadier-General Ira Eaker, personally led his men on a precision raid against Rouen's marshalling yards on 17 August. The US approach is to fly heavily-armed bombers in close mass-formations by day to destroy the enemy's means of making war, rather than in area attacks by night to undermine the enemy's will.

Today, in the biggest daylight raid from Britain, more than 100 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators protected by 300 Allied fighters struck at factories in Lille, in northern France. Four bombers were shot down and one crew retrieved. In dogfights, the Poles claim three "kills" and the RAF two. It is not known how many were shot down by the American bombers.

The US Eighth Air Force flies Mission 14: 108 bombers are dispatched to Lille, France, to bomb the steel and engineering works of the Compagnie de Fives and the locomotive and freight car works of Ateliers d'Hellemmes; 59 B-17 Flying Fortresses and 10 B-24s hit the primary targets; 2 B-17s hit the secondary target, Courtrai Airfield; other targets hit are Longuenesse Airfield (6) and Roubaix (2); the bombers claim 25-38-44 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 bombers are lost.

The ten B-24s are from the 94th Bombardment Group (Heavy), the first B-24 unit to enter combat with the Eighth Air Force. 

The first mission-related midair collision sustained by Eighth Air Force heavy bombers occurs during the flight to France when a pair of 92d Bombardment Group (Heavy) B-17s collide. Both are able to return to base. 

A B-17 of the 301st Bombardment Group (Heavy) that has been damaged by enemy fire over the target becomes the first Eighth Air Force bomber ever to ditch at sea when 1st Lieutenant Donald Swenson lands the plane in 15-20 foot (4.6-6.1 meter) high seas. All crewmen survived. (Skip Guidry and Jack McKillop)

Escort carrier HMS Speaker laid down.

BELGIUM: During USAAF Eighth Air Force Mission 14 (see France below), two B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the secondary target, Wevelghem Airfield at Courtrai.

NETHERLANDS: Fourteen RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines in the Frisian Islands without loss.

FRANCE: The 94d BG (H) becomes the first B-24 unit to enter combat with the 8th AF. (Skip Guidry)

The first mission-related midair collision sustained by 8th AF heavy bombers occurs during the flight to France when a pair of 92d BG (H) B-17s collide. Both are able to return to base. (Skip Guidry)

U-171 (Type IXC) is sunk at 1300hrs in the Bay of Biscay near Lorient, France, at position 47.30N, 03.30W, by mines. 22 dead, 29 survivors. (Alex Gordon)

GERMANY: Five RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos are dispatched to hit scattered targets; one bombs Koblenz.

DENMARK: Copenhagen: The Nazis have at last forced King Christian to     appoint the pro-Nazi Erik Scavenius as prime minister. In September, when the king celebrated his 72nd birthday, Hitler sent him fulsome congratulations. The king, who has no liking for Hitler and his Nazis, responded with a cool acknowledgement of receipt. Hitler, enraged by the "insult", insisted on having a more obedient government installed.

Scavenius, who also retains his post of foreign minister, is disliked heartily by the Danes; he has made Denmark a member of the anti-Comintern pact and encouraged Danes to fight against Russia.

U.S.S.R.: Stalin removes command authority from the Commissars in the Red Army. They remain in charge of morale and propaganda. Responsibility for military decisions is now entirely in the hands of the commanding officers. 

EGYPT: In the Mediterranean, US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24 Liberators strike shipping and harbor facilities at Bengasi, Libya; and P-40s fly escort and strafe a landing ground west of El Daba, Egypt and emplacements in the battle area west of El Alamein, Egypt. During the latter mission, 1st Lieutenant William J. Mount, a P-40 pilot with the 57th Fighter Group, scores the first USAAF aerial victory in North Africa against a Luftwaffe Bf 109 fighter in the vicinity of El Alamein. (Skip Guidry and Jack McKillop) 

LIBYA: US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24 Liberators strike shipping and harbor facilities at Bengasi.

MADAGASCAR: British forces move south from Tananarive to link up with the troops that landed in the south the end of September.

CHINA: The British and U.S. governments formally relinquish extra-territorial rights and special privileges in China. This policy change reflects an effort to bolster the Nationalist Chinese government as a strategic partner in the war against the Japanese.

NEW GUINEA: On the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, the Australian 2/25th Battalion is ordered to swing left to Kagi while the 2/31st Battalion keeps moving forward to Efogi North however, the patrol from 2/25th Battalion is still being held up by the Japanese rearguard on the Track.

     In North East New Guinea, the USAAF Fifth Air Force completes the airlift of the Australian 2/7th Independent Company to Wau. Their orders are to harass the Japanese in the Mubo-Lae-Salamaua area. Meanwhile fourteen USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb Lae Aerodrome.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: During the night, Japanese seaplane carrier HIJMS Nisshin delivers 6 antiaircraft guns, two 10 cm howitzers, equipment and 180 men on Guadalcanal. 4 destroyers unload mortars and 560 men of the 4th Maizuru Special Naval Landing Force.
The 1st Marine Division successfully completes its three-day offensive west of Henderson Field. The 1st and 2nd Battalions, 7th Marine Regiment, moved out for Point Cruz and Matanikau Village where they met the IJA 4th Infantry Regiment. About 690 Japanese have been killed during the Battle of the Matanikau while the Marines have suffered fewer than 200 casualties.

Three USAAF P-39Airacobra pilots shoot down three IJN float biplanes over New Georgia Sound about 150 miles (241.4 km) from Henderson Field at 0700 hours local.

In the afternoon, 20 F4F Wildcats of Marine Fighting Squadron One Hundred Twenty One (VMF-121) are launched from the auxiliary aircraft carrier USS Copahee (ACV-12) and land at Fighter-1.

NEW CALEDONIA: U.S. reinforcements in the form of the U.S. Army's 164th Infantry Regiment are on the way as a troop convoy, consisting of the transports USS McCawley (AP-10) and USS Zeilin (AP-9) and 8 high speed transport (Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner) sail from Nouméa, New Caledonia. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

NEW HEBRIDES: The Japanese submarine HIJMS I-7 launches a "Glen" reconnaissance aircraft (Yokosuka E14Y1, Navy Type 0 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane) to reconnoiter Espiritu Santo Island.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: 30 Fifth Air Force B-17s bomb numerous targets at Rabaul, New Britain Island. In New Guinea, 14 B-25 Mitchells hit the airfield at Lae.

PACIFIC OCEAN:  The U.S. submarine USS Drum (SS-228) sinks a Japanese merchant cargo ship.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: The Eleventh Air Force dispatches 7 B-17s and 10 B-24s, escorted by 6 P-38 Lightnings and 4 P-39s bomb the harbor at Kiska Island, installations, and shipping 6 times; targets include shipping in Gertrude Cove, small cargo vessels in Kiska Harbor, installations at North Head, a hangar, Main Camp area (hit several times), and various shore facilities.

CANADA: Trawler HMS Magdalen arrived Sydney, Nova Scotia and proceeded to Picton to workup.

U.S.A.: The USN opens the first three schools for enlisted WAVES (Woman Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) at Stillwater, Oklahoma, (Yeoman), Bloomington, Indiana, (Storekeepers), and Madison, Wisconsin (Radiomen).

Destroyer USS Conway commissioned.

Submarine USS Haddo commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN:

Help for the heavily damaged U-333 came in the form of a meeting in the mid-Atlantic. A doctor from the milk cow U-459 came on board U-333 to aid the badly wounded commander Ali Cremer. On the same day Kapitänleutnant Lorenz Kasch transferred from U-107 and took over command of U-333.

During very bad weather in the North Atlantic a lookout on U-443 broke his arm.

U-171 sunk at 1300 hrs in the Bay of Biscay near Lorient, France, in position 47.39N, 03.34W, by mines. 22 dead and 30 survivors.

U-159 sank SS Coloradan.

U-201 sank SS Flensburg.

U-254 sank SS Pennington Court.

U-68 sank SS Belgian Fighter and SS Examelia.

The Canadian Government merchant ship Carolus, an ex-Finnish registered freighter (2,375 GRT), was sunk by a torpedo from U-69, Kptlt. Jost Metzler, Knight's Cross, CO, off Matane, Quebec, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Carolus had been a member of convoy NL-9. HMC ships Arrowhead and Hepatica rescued 19 of her 30 crewmembers.

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October 9th, 1943 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The Eighth Air Force flies 2 missions. 

* The VIII Air Support Command flies Mission 81: 66 B-26B Marauders bomb the Woensdrecht Airfield in the Netherlands at 1516-1526 hours. This is the final Eighth Air Force B-26 operation; the B-26s will be transferred to the IX Bomber Command, Ninth Air Force on 16 October.

* The VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 113 against 2 targets in Germany and 2 in Poland; 26 B-17s and 2 B-24s are lost.

- 106 B-17s hit the industrial area in Anklam, Germany at 1142-1146 hours; they claim 65-19-47 Luftwaffe aircraft, 18 B-17s are lost.

- 96 B-17s hit the industrial area in Marienburg, Germany at 1253-1302 hours; they claim 9-2-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 B-17s are lost.

- 41 B-24s hit the U-boat yards at Danzig and the port area at Gdynia, Poland at 1305 hours; they claim 7-3-4 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 B-24s are lost.

- 109 B-17s hit the port area at Gdynia, Poland at 1304-1324 hours; they claim 41-5-10 Luftwaffe aircraft; 6 B-17s are lost.

MAC ship Ancylus launched.

Frigate HMS Retalick launched.

Minelayer HMS Apollo commissioned.

Submarine HMS Stratagem commissioned.

GERMANY: During the night of 9/10 October, six RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb Berlin without loss.

U-244 commissioned.

U-297, U-901 launched.

POLAND: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 113 against two targets; 109 B-17 Flying Fortresses and 41 B-24 Liberators bomb the port area at Gdynia between 1304 and 1324 hours; six B-17s are lost. The bombers claim 41-5-10 Luftwaffe aircraft.

U.S.S.R.: The forces of General Ivan E. Petrov, Commander of the North Caucasas Front, complete the occupation of the Kuban. Most of the German 17th Army has escaped to the Crimea where they reinforce the German line south of Zaporozhye.

Most of the German 17th Army has escaped to the Crimea. They are sent to reinforce the German line south of Zaporozhye.

Polar Fleet and White Sea Flotilla: Submarine "M-172" - supposedly mined or attacked by U-boat and sunk, at Varanger-fjord. (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

ITALY: Allied intelligence warns General Eisenhower and top Allied commanders that the Germans have decided to defend Rome and the southern two-thirds of the Italian peninsula. Intelligence has discovered that three elite German divisions have reinforced Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's 10th Army along the Volturno River, 20 miles (32.2 km) north of Naples. 

Intelligence also has learned the Germans are using Italian labourers to prepare a stronger position -- called the Gustav Line -- 85 miles (136.8 km) south of Rome.

     In U.S. Fifth Army's VI Corps area, the 45th Infantry Division finishes clearing the right flank of the army. (Jack McKillop

     With the Italian surrender to the Allies, the Germans occupy the former Italian positions in the Balkans. Marshal Tito (Josip Broz) leads Yugoslav guerilla forces against German troops outside of Trieste.

     The USAAF XII Air Support Command does not operate, but the Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force and the RAF's Desert Air Force hit traffic in the Termoli and Montenero areas, guns north of Capua, a HQ at Palata, and roads and railroads north of Naples.

GREECE: USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb six airfields without loss; 31 bomb the South Airfield at Argos, 30 each hit Eleus Airfield at Athens and Larissa Airfield, 24 attack Sedes Airfield and eight each hit Calato and Maritza Airfields, both on the island of Rhodes and 16 B-24 Liberators bomb Pediada Airfield at Kastelli..

YUGOSLAVIA: USAAF Twelfth Air Force P-38 Lightnings fly a sweep over Dubrovnik.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA:  XII Bomber Command B-17s bomb airfields at Larissa, Athens and Salonika, Greece, and Argos, Italy. B-24s hit Pediada Airfield at Kastelli, Crete. P-38s fly a sweep between the island of Corfu, Greece and Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, and escort shipping in the Karpathos Straits between Carpathos and Rhodes. In Italy, the XII Air Support Command does not operate, but the Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force and the RAF's Desert Air Force hit traffic in the Termoli and Montenero areas, guns north of Capua, a HQ at Palata, and roads and railroads north of Naples.

While providing air cover for RN warships that have bombarded German installations in the Dodecanese Islands, two P-38 pilots of the 37th Fighter Squadron, 14th Fighter Group, achieve "ace" status. Major William L. Leverette, Commanding Officer of the 37th, downs seven Ju87 Stuka dive bombers in a single pass at about 1215 hours to become an ace. This is the highest single-mission score in either the European and Mediterranean Theater of Operations in World War II; he ends the war with 11 confirmed victories. The second pilot is 2d Lieutenant who downs five JU-87s at 1217 hours to become an "instant ace." These are his only victories of the war. (Skip Guidry and Jack McKillop)

     While making a sortie in the Greek Dodecanese Islands to intercept German convoys in the Scarpanto Strait, the British light cruiser HMS Carlisle (D 67) and destroyers HMS Panther (G 41) and Rockwood (L 39) are attacked by Luftwaffe Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers. HMS Panther is hit and sinks in less than a minute about 42 nautical miles (78 kilometers) south-southwest of the city of Rhodes on the island of Rhodes at position 35.48N, 27.38E. HMS Carlisle is seriously damaged and she is taken in tow to Alexandria, Egypt, by HMS Rockwood. On examination of the damage it is concluded that Carlisle is a constructive loss, and never placed in service again. She remained at Alexandria as a base ship for the remainder of the war. In 1948 the old cruiser is finally broken up for scrap at Alexandria. (Alex Gordon)(108)

At 0036 hours, destroyer USS Buck (LCDR M. Klein, lost) was on patrol off Salerno, when she was hit in the bow by a Gnat fired by U-616, causing the forward magazine to explode and sank within four minutes. Destroyer USS Gleaves and landing craft HMS LCT-170 picked up the survivors.

CHINA: 4 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s on a shipping sweep off the southeastern coast in the Amoy-Quemoy area sink a 150-ft (45.7 m) tanker and damage a patrol vessel, and a freighter; a B-25 crashes into a hill and explodes. Ten P-40s bomb fuel storage and barracks at Mangshih; a P-40 is downed by ground fire.

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs and RAAF aircraft bomb and strafe defensive positions in the Sattelberg and Finschhafen areas.

EAST INDIES: B-24s bomb Makassar on Celebes Island.

ELLICE ISLANDS: Nukufetau Airstrip on Motulalo Island is ready for use.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Thirteenth Air Force B-25s and P-40s hit barges and concentrations on western Choiseul Island. P-39s and USN F4U Corsairs strafe buildings, a radar station, and gun positions on Poporang Island.  

PACIFIC OCEAN: Two U.S. submarines sink an IJA cargo ship and a merchant vessel.

In the South China Sea, four USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells on a shipping sweep off the southeastern coast in the Amoy-Quemoy area sink a 150 foot (46 meter) tanker and damage a patrol vessel, and a freighter; a B-25 crashes into a hill and explodes.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: 12 Kurile Island-based IJN bombers attack Attu Island.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Stettler launched.

Minesweeper HMCS St Boniface commissioned.

U.S.A.: General Henry H. "Hap"Arnold, Commanding General U.S. Army Air Forces, recommends to the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the USAAF Twelfth Air Force in Italy be divided into two air forces, one strategic and one tactical, to increase the power of the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO). It has already been decided that Italian-based aircraft will assist in offensive to knock out Germany.

The 30 minute children's fantasy radio program "The Land of the Lost" debuts on the NBC Blue Network at 1130 hours Eastern on this Saturday. The opening phrase for the show was, “In that wonderful kingdom at the bottom of the sea...” This children’s adventure-fantasy serial took the audience underwater where the main characters, Isabel and her brother Jimmy, were guided by their friend, a red fish named Red Lantern and played at first by Junius Matthews and later, by Art Carney. "Land of the Lost" found a large audience and remained on the air until July 1948.

Frigate USS Beaufort launched.

Destroyer escort USS Durik launched.

Minesweeper USS Chief commissioned.

Submarine USS Sand Lance commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN:

U-220 laid a field of 66 mines off St John’s, which later claimed two ships, sunk.

U-645 sank SS Yorkmar in Convoy SC-143.

U-737 was attacked by shore-based artillery off Barentsburg (Spitsbergen), but the boat dived and did not sustain any damage.

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October 9th, 1944 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The US Army Eighth Air Force flies 2 missions.

* Mission 670: 1,110 bombers and 878 fighters are dispatched to make PFF attacks on industrial targets in southern and central Germany; 1 B-24 is lost: 

- 329 B-17s hit the secondary target, ball bearing plants at Schweinfurt; 1 other hit a target of opportunity. Escort is provided by 338 P-51s.

- 381 B-17s are dispatched to hit the marshalling yard at Mainz (210) and aircraft engine plant at Gustavsburg (148). Escort is provided by 202 Ninth Air Force P-38s and P-47s.

- 360 B-24s hit the secondary, the marshalling yard at Koblenz; 1 hits a target of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost. Escort is provided by 271 P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground. Captain Ken L. Gilbert landed the 93d Bombardment Group (Heavy) B-24 "Missouri Sue", completing his 75th combat mission. He flew two consecutive combat tours in a six-month period, beginning his first tour on 12 April 44 and completing it on 12 July 44. This is an Eighth Air Force record that is believed to be unsurpassed in WW II.

* Mission 671: 2 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands during the night. (Skip Guidry and Jack McKillop)

Destroyer HMS Zealous commissioned.

WESTERN EUROPE: HQ Ninth Air Force gives the Tactical Air Commands an initial attack list of 10 bridges on the US front; other lists follow. Thirty 9th Bombardment Division aircraft attack a rail bridge at Euskirchen, Germany; fighters provide escort and fly uneventful armed reconnaissance; and P-47s sent against airfields in Germany are recalled because of bad weather.

BELGIUM: Units of the Canadian 3rd Division land at Breskens, opposite Flushing, on the south bank of the Scheldt.

NETHERLANDS: In the Canadian First Army area, II Corps continues clearing the Breskens Pocket. An amphibious assault force of the Canadian 3rd Division lands at the east end of the pocket, taking the Germans by surprise and establishing a bridgehead; other elements of the division expand the holdings north of the Leopold Canal in the Maldegem area. The 4th Armoured Division exerts pressure on German positions at the east end of the canal. The Germans continue a vigorous defense of the Zuid Beveland causeway, holding the 2d Division to slight gains in the Woensdrecht area.

FRANCE: Muddy ground and an ammunition shortage force US General Patton to suspend his attacks near Metz and Nancy.

In the U.S. Third Army’s XX Corps area, it is decided to break off costly action against Fort Driant. Indecisive fighting continues within Maizières-lès-Metz. In XII Corps area, Combat Command A of the 6th Armored Division, attacking through Combat Command B attempts to take the final objective of the division, a plateau west of Létricourt; elements clear the woods southwest of Létricourt but the column to right comes under heavy fire from Chenicourt and cannot reach Létricourt. The Germans retain Létricourt and from time to time mount small, ineffective counterattacks. German force breaks into Fossieux, where it is engaged by the 35th Infantry Division. Corps front is largely quiet for rest of month and early days of November. Regrouping and rotation of front-line troops is thus possible.

     In the U.S. Seventh Army’s XV Corps area, the 79th Infantry Division makes all-out effort to clear the rest of Foret de Parroy, gaining the main road junction in center and thereby making the German positions untenable. The Germans withdraw from the forest after nightfall.

     In the French 1st Army's II Corps area, the 3d Algerian Division forces the Moselotte River in the Thiéfosse-Saulxures region and takes the village of Trougemont.

GERMANY: The Red Army reaches the Baltic coast, encircling Memel, the northernmost city in Germany.

In the U.S. First Army's XIX Corps area, the 119th Infantry Regiment of the 30th Infantry Division drives through Bardenberg to North Wuerselen; the 120th is kept from Euchen and Beck, villages astride road to Bardenbcrg, by a German force crossing its front en route to Bardenberg; the 117th clears Schaufenberg and tries unsuccessfully to reach Mariadorf, then is authorized to go on the defensive in the Alsdorf-Schaufenberg region. At night, a German force reaches Bardenberg and routs the small holding force of the 119th Infantry, isolating the main body of that regiment in North Wuerselen; 119th Infantry Regiment reserves attempt to regain Bardenberg from the north but are stopped at the village. In VII Corps area, the 1st Infantry Division continues operations against Aachen. The 9th Infantry Division attacks to break out of Huertgen Forest; assisted by tanks, the forward battalion of the 60th Infantry Regiment emerges in the Richelskaul area and two platoons of the 39th Infantry Regiment at Wittscheidt. In the V Corps area, a planned attack on West Wall is postponed until 11 October.

     During the night of 9/10 October, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 435 aircraft, 375 Halifaxes, 40 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos, to bomb Bochum; 404 actually bomb the target with the loss of five aircraft, four Halifaxes and a Lancaster.. This raid is not successful. The target area is covered by cloud and the bombing is scattered. In a second mission, 46 Mosquitos bomb Wilhelmshaven without loss; other targets hit during the night by Mosquitos are four aircraft bombing Saarbrucken , three to Krefeld and three to Lohausen Airfield at Dusseldorf.

U-2338 commissioned.

U-2352 laid down.

U.S.S.R.: Churchill and Eden arrive in Moscow. They will discuss the political future of Eastern Europe.

Churchill said he was "not worrying very much about Romania" - that country was very much a Russian affair. As for Yugoslavia, the British prime minister suggested a 50-50 division of influence. On Greece, Churchill was firm; he said that Britain, as the leading Mediterranean power, must have the major influence.

 The London based, Exiled Polish government is present for some of the discussions. They achieve no concessions. Stalin insists that Bulgaria and Romaniaare part of a Soviet sphere of influence, while Greece is in the British sphere. In Hungary and Yugoslavia influence is to be divided. This conference will last through the 20th.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill asks Admiral Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Commander South East Asia Command, to meet him in Cairo, Egypt, to consider pre-monsoon operations.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army IV Corps area, Task Force 92 pushes to the top of Mt. Cauala without opposition but later in the day is forced to withdraw. The next two days are devoted to preparations for another assault. Regimental Combat Team 6 of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, pushing northward along the Serchio River, halts near Barga to avoid a possible German counterattack. In II Corps area, 34th Infantry Division continues to make slow progress against the Monterumici hill mass. The 91st Infantry Division repels a counterattack from Livergnano, mops up, and prepares for a co-ordinated effort against the formidable Livergnano escarpment: Company K of the 361st Infantry Regiment reconnoiters to the edge of Livergnano, where it is cut off from the main body; Companies E and G move to positions above Bigallo and are pinned down. The 338th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division, now well ahead of 337th, prepares to attack Mt. delle Formiche in conjunction with attack of the 91st Infantry Division; 1st Battalion outflanks La Villa. The 337th Infantry Regiment prepares for a full-scale effort against Hill 578, the peak of Monterenzio hill mass. The 349th Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division, begins clearing ridge leading to Mt. delle Tombe; the 351st Infantry Regiment reaches the edge of Gesso. In the British XIII Corps area, the 78th Division, reinforced, takes responsibility for Mt. Battaglia and Mt. Cappello, on the left flank of the corps; the 1st Guards Brigade, 6th Armoured Division, remains on Mt. Battaglia.

     In the British Eighth Army area, X Corps, upon regrouping in connection with the arrival of 1st Armoured Division headquarters, pursues retreating Germans northward along Highway 71; reconnaissance elements find Mt. Castello and Mercato Saraceno clear. In the V Corps area, hard fighting develops at St. Paola as the Germans make an unsuccessful attempt to recover it.

Weather again grounds the heavy and medium bombers. Twelfth Air Force fighter-bombers, and fighters hit roads, rail crossing, transport and other targets in the Bologna and Sabbioso areas.

GREECE: Aircraft of the RAF's No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group attack three airfields in the Athens area during the night of 9/10 October without loss: ten bomb Kalamaki Airfield, six hit Tatoi Airfield and three attack Eleusis Airfield.

BURMA: 50+ Tenth Air Force P-47s knock out a bridge at Manyut and thoroughly pound the town area, bomb enemy positions at Nyaunggon, Pinhe, and near Mawhun, damage a bridge near Mawlu, and hit a variety of targets in the Katha area; 9 B-25s attack road bridges southwest of Lashio, knocking out Na-lang and Nampawng bridges; and the B-25s hit several targets of opportunity in the area. Transport aircraft continue a steady supply of various points in the CBI Theater.

CHINA: Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs T. V. Soong presents to the U.S. Ambassador to China, Major General Patrick Hurley, an aide memoire (position paper) from Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek denouncing Allied strategy in southeast Asia. General Joseph Stilwell, Commander-in-Chief US China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, Chief of Staff to Chiang Kai-Shek, Commander-in-Chief Northern Area Combat Command (NCAC) and Deputy Commander-in-Chief South East Asia Command, is blamed for the loss of eastern China but the criticism falls indirectly upon U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The Fourteenth Air Force dispatches 2 B-25s to bomb the area north of Mangshih; 3 B-24s hit shipping along the lower Yangtze River; 29 P-51 Mustangs and P-40s on armed reconnaissance attack river traffic, troops, bridges, and other targets of opportunity in areas around Tanchuk, Tengyun, Anking, and Amoy; and the airstrip at Tanchuk is temporarily put out of commission.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: US forces enter the Lingayen Gulf.

MARCUS ISLAND: The USN's Task Group 30.2 consisting of three heavy cruisers and six destroyers conducts a diversionary bombardment of Japanese installations on Marcus Island. Japanese return fire is intense and accurate at the outset, with Japanese gunners repeatedly straddling U.S. ships. The island is located in the North Pacific about 768 nautical miles (1 422 kilometers) west-northwest of Wake Island and is used as a refueling point for Japanese aircraft en route to the Central Pacific.

PACIFIC OCEAN: U.S. submarines sink two merchant tankers and a merchant cargo ship.

NEW GUINEA: In Dutch New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force P-40s hit Manokwari, and B-25 Mitchells bomb Samate Airfield..

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The USN's Special Air Task Force (STAG 1) continues operations from Stirling Island in the Treasury Islands. Four Interstate TDR-1 target drones controlled from converted TBM-1C Avengers are launched against Matupi Bridge, Simpson Harbor, Rabaul, on New Britain Island. Antiaircraft fire, however, downs three of the TDRs; one is lost en route to the target.

CENTRAL PACIFIC: 18 Seventh Air Force B-24s from Saipan bomb Iwo Jima and 25 B-25s from the Marshall Islands bomb Truk Atoll.  

Saipan-based USN Navy PB4Ys, on interdiction patrols in the path of Task Force 58 as it approaches the Ryukyu Islands, damage Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser HIJMS Sankyo Maru off Okinawa.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: On Peleliu in the Palau Islands, the 5th Marine Regiment renews their attack on the Umurbrogol Pocket but makes little headway.

     Twenty five USAAF Seventh Air Force B-25 Mitchells from the Marshall Islands bomb Truk Atoll.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC: Far East Air Forces B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers attack Boela on Ceram Island, Namlea and Kairatoe on Celebes Island, and Liang on Ambon Island, concentrating on oil tanks and airfields. On Halmahera Island, B-25s and fighter-bombers hit Lolobata and Hate Tabako Airfields and nearby barges, supplies, and other targets of opportunity. In New Guinea, A-20s and fighter-bombers strike Faan and Langgoer Airfields, P-40s hit Manokwari, and B-25s bomb Samate.

HAWAII: In a Warning Order for invasion of Iwo Jima, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief Pacific Ocean Area (CINCPOA), designates the Fifth Fleet Commander, Admiral Raymond Spruance, as commander of the operation (Commander, Task Force 50); Vice Admiral Richmond K. Turner, Commander Amphibious Forces, Pacific, to command the Joint Expeditionary Force (Task Force 51); Lieutenant General Holland M. Smith, USMC, Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, as commander of the Expeditionary Troops (Task Force 56). The invasion date is tentaviely set for 20 January 1945. Expeditionary troops are to be mounted in Hawaiian area and in the Mariana Islands.

Washington: Details of the conference to decide the structure of the post-war United Nations Organization, which was held at Dumbarton Oaks, a colonial mansion in Georgetown, an elegant Washington suburb, were announced here today. The conference broke up without fully resolving deep divisions of opinion between the United States, the Soviet Union and Britain. Mr. Roosevelt has succeeded in getting China counted as one of the four great powers. The Soviet Union has successfully demanded a veto for the great powers. It also demanded a vote for each of its 16 republics, as several British Dominions have votes; a compromise was eventually reached by giving votes to three of its component republics.

Admiral Nimitz orders Iwo Jima to be invaded on 20 January 1945.

Aircraft carrier USS Randolph commissioned.

Destroyer escort USS French commissioned.

Frigate USS Charlotte commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN:

U-636 set a reconnaissance party ashore on Hope Island to look for a landing place for a weather report aircraft.

U-978 carried out the longest Schnorchel patrol of the war, 68 days from Bergen, Norway on 9 Oct 1944 to Bergen again on 16 Dec 1944. This even surpassed the much more famous 66-day submerged run U-977 undertook while en route to Argentina to surrender there in August 1945.

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October 9th, 1945 (TUESDAY)

FRANCE: A French court sentences Pierre Laval, the Vice Premier of Vichy France, to death for collaborating with the Germans during World War II. He is executed on 15 October.

JAPAN: Typhoon "Louise" strikes at Okinawa. The United States Navy suffers with 12 ships sunk, 222 grounded and 32 damaged beyond local repair. 36 are killed and 47 missing. More...

High speed minesweeper (ex-destroyer) USS Dorsey wrecked in a Typhoon off Okinawa when she was driven aground (3 casualties.) Her hulk was destroyed on 11 January 1946.

USS PC-590 (Coast Guard-manned) grounded and sank in typhoon off Okinawa.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: The US 86th Infantry Division conducts a simultaneous search of all land areas under control for missing persons and Japanese still operating in the area. (Drew Philip Halévy)

CANADA: Minesweepers HMCS Cowichan and Malpeque paid off and laid up Shelburne , Nova Scotia.

U.S.A.: Parade in New York City honors FADM Chester W. Nimitz and 13 other Navy and Marine Corps Medal of Honor winners.

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