19 October 1939

1935 (SATURDAY)

SWITZERLAND: The League of Nations votes to impose deliberately ineffectual economic sanctions against Italy for its invasion of Ethiopia. Steps that would impede the progress of the invasion, such as banning the sale of oil to Italy and closing the Suez Canal, are not taken, out of fear of igniting hostilities in Europe. In the first loss of Ethiopian independence in its long history, tens of thousands of Ethiopians are killed as the Italian army employed poison gas and other modern atrocities to suppress the country. By the end of 1936, the Italian conquest of Ethiopia is complete. Ethiopia's leader, Emperor Haile Selassie, goes into exile but returns in 1941, when British and Ethiopian troops liberate the country. Ignoring the British occupation authorities, Selassie quickly organized his own government.

October 19th, 1939 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

Corvette HMS Gladiolus laid down.

Destroyer HMS Highlander launched.

GERMANY: Berlin: The army High Command issues 'Fall Gelb' [Plan Yellow], the strategy for a western offensive.
Hitler officially incorporates the Western portion of Poland into the Reich.

U-55 launched.

POLAND: A Jewish ghetto is established at Lublin, the centre of a Jewish "reserve" in eastern Poland.

TURKEY: Ankara: The Allied commanders Maxime Weygand and Archibald Wavell sign a mutual assistance pact with Turkey.

JAPAN: U.S. Ambassador Joseph Grew tells the Japanese people that American public opinion strongly resent Japan's actions in China stating "only through consideration of those facts, and through constructive steps to alter those facts, can Japanese-American relations be improved. Those relations must be improved. . . . But the American people have been profoundly shocked over the wide-spread use of bombing in China, not only on grounds of humanity but also on grounds of the direct menace to American lives and property accompanied by the loss of American life and the crippling of American citizens; they regard with growing seriousness the violation of and interference with American rights by the Japanese armed forces in China in disregard of treaties and agreements entered into by the United States and Japan and treaties and agreements entered into by several nations, including Japan. The American people know that those treaties and agreements were entered into voluntarily by

Japan and that the provisions of those treaties and agreements constituted a practical arrangement for safeguarding "for the benefit of all" the correlated principles of national sovereignty and of equality of economic opportunity. The principle of equality of economic opportunity is one to which over a long period and on many occasions Japan has given definite approval and upon which Japan has frequently insisted. Not only are the American people perturbed over their being arbitrarily deprived of long-established rights, including those of equal opportunity and fair treatment, but they feel that the present trend in the Far East if continued will be destructive of the hopes which they sincerely cherish of the development of an orderly world. American rights and interests in China are being impaired or destroyed by the policies and actions of the Japanese authorities in China. American property is being damaged or destroyed; American nationals are being endangered and subjected to indignities. . . . The traditional friendship between our two Nations is far too precious a thing to be either inadvertently or deliberately impaired."

CANADA: Destroyer HMCS Assiniboine (ex-HMS Kempenfelt) commissioned.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" premieres at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Directed by Frank Capra, this political drama stars James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold, Thomas Mitchell, Beulah Bondi, Harry Carry; Jack Carson and H.V. Kaltenborn appear in uncredited bit parts. The plot has young idealist Stewart being appointed a U.S. Senator and fighting corruption in the Senate Chamber. The film is nominated for ten Academy Awards including Best Picture (it loses to "Gone With The Wind"), Best Director, Best Actor (Stewart) and Best Supporting Actor (Carey); it wins an Oscar for Best Writing. The film is ranked Number 29 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest Movies.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-48 attacked the British steamer Rockpool with gunfire at 1332hrs. The steamer fired back, forcing the U-boat to crash dive. When it surfaced and opened fire once more, a destroyer arrived, sending the U-boat into a second dive.

19 October 1940

October 19th, 1940 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Battle of Britain: The weather is cloudy in the Channel and misty in northern France but the weather clears after 1200 hours.

There is little German air activity during the day except for one ineffective attack on London. A number of houses are damaged in Coventry and the By Pass Road machine-gunned. There are only minor incidents to report in Essex, Surrey and Kent. As soon as darkness fell, a particularly vicious attack is launched against London and the surrounding suburbs. Railway communications appeared to be the main objective and considerable damage is done. The Dockyards are attacked but damage is not as great as at first thought, owing to a large number of bombs falling either on empty sheds or on warehouses already destroyed. There are numerous fires But all are now under control. In the Midlands, attacks are concentrated on Coventry. Districts in and around Liverpool and Birkenhead are also attacked but on the whole damage to factories and residential quarters is not as great as at first feared.

One bomber sent out in the morning was shot down over Kent.

By 1400 hours, 14 Bf 109 fighters had assembled over the Pas de Calais for a fighter sweep over England. They headed from London and a dog fighter ensued; 2 RAF fighters were shot down bringing Fighter Command's losses for the day to 5 against 2 Luftwaffe aircraft.

During the night, Luftwaffe bombers attacked London, Liverpool, the midlands and Bristol.

NORTH SEA: WW1 vintage destroyer HMS Venetia is sunk by a magnetic mine in the Thames Estuary off the Knob Buoy at 51 33N, 01 10E, while on patrol. (Alex Gordon)(108)

NETHERLANDS: An RAF Wellington is shot down over the Zuider Zee by a Luftwaffe Do 17 Z-10 'Kauz II' intruder, with the Infra-Red system called 'Spanner' (Observer).

GERMANY:

U-442 laid down.

U-149 and U-150 launched.

BALTIC SEA: U-106 collided with U-143 during exercises off Danzig.

SPAIN: Himmler arrives in Spain. He is accompanied by General Wolf, Chief of General Staff, plus five others. He arrives at Irun and proceeds to Burgos. (Russel Folsom)

MIDDLE EAST: Four Italian aircraft have made an audacious long-range attack on the British oil refinery at Bahrein, in the Persian Gulf. The SM82 bombers were in the air for more than 15 hours, flying 3,000 miles from Rhodes in the Mediterranean to Massawa, in Eritrea, on a triangular route whose most easterly point was Bahrein Island. Each aircraft dropped 66 30-pound bombs on the complex. Pilots say: "We saw fires for hundreds of miles as we left the area."

This does not match the British claims that there was no damage. A refinery engineer asserted that safety flares were turned up to simulate uncontrolled fires.

JAPAN: Tokyo: The Dutch East Indies agrees to supply Japan with 40% of its oil production for the next six months.

AUSTRALIA: Convoy US-6 consisting of the transports Queen Mary, Aquitania and Mauretania, escorted by the light cruiser HMAS Perth (D 29), sails from Sydney, New South Wales, for the Middle East with the 20th and 21st Brigades of the Australian 7th Division plus supporting units.

CANADA: Patrol vessel HMCS Brad D'Or foundered in the early morning while keeping the Romanian freighter Ingener N Vlassopol under surveillance in the Gulf of St. Lawrence near Anticosti Island. Her last known position was 40.20N, 063.50W. Brad D'Or sank with no survivors. It has been suggested Brad D'Or foundered due to icing conditions that were prevalent at the time.

U.S.A.: "Only Forever" by Bing Crosby reaches Number 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the U.S. The song is from the motion picture "Rhythm on the River" starring Bing Crosby, Mary Martin, Basil Rathbone, Oscar Levant and William Frawley. This song, which debuted on the charts on 28 September 1940, was charted for 16 weeks, was Number 1 for 9 weeks and was ranked Number 4 for the year 1940.

The motion picture "They Knew What They Wanted" is released today. The romantic drama, based on the play by Sidney Howard, is directed by Garson Kanin and stars Charles Laughton, Carole Lombard, William Gargan and Harry Carey; Tom Ewell, and Karl Malden appear in bit parts. The plot has Laughton as an Italian grape-grower in California who asks a waitress to marry him. Gargan is nominated for a Best Supporting Actor award.

NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN: Royal Navy commanders were tonight counting the cost of Admiral Donitz's escalation of the U-boat war. U-boats are now ordered to hunt in "wolfpacks" of up to a dozen boats. One pack has sunk over 30 ships from two convoys and damaged another in the last two days.

The slaughter began when Lieutenant Heinrich Bleichrodt in U-48 spotted a slow convoy, SC-7, escorted by two sloops and a corvette. Without waiting for the rest of the pack to catch up, Bleichrodt attacked and sank two merchant ships. He was then chased by a Sunderland flying boat and a sloop.

After dark last night he was joined by five other pack members. They struck together with devastating effectiveness, sinking 15 ships in six hours. Tragically, the escorts could do little to help as they floundered around picking up survivors.

By this time U-48 and two others had used up all their torpedoes and headed for home. The others stayed to pick off some of the stragglers and to look for new prey. The pack leader was Gunther Prien, called the "Bull of Scapa Flow" in recognition for his daring sorties into the home of the British fleet. He homed in on the 49-ship convoy HX-79.

Cautiously Prien waited for three other submarines to join him, by which time the convoy had an escort of two destroyers, four corvettes, three trawlers, and a Dutch submarine. Again Prien waited and then after nightfall struck suddenly with his full force. Within hours he had hit six ships and his colleagues had hit seven - 12 sank. In the chaos the defending forces mistook the Dutch boat O14 for a German submarine and attacked it twice.

This same night the U-boats run into Convoy HX-79A, outward from England, and sink a further seven ships.

U-100 damaged SS Blairspey in Convoy SC-7.

U-101 sank SS Assyrian and SS Sosterberg in Convoy SC-7.

U-123 sank SS Boekelo, SS Clintonia, SS Sedgepool and SS Shekatika in Convoy SC-7.

U-99 damaged SS Clintonia and sank SS Thalia, SS Snefjeld and SS Empire Brigade in Convoy SC-7.

U-47 sank SS Uganda, SS Wandby and damaged SS Shirak in Convoy HX-79.

U-46 sank SS Ruperra in Convoy HX-79.

U-38 sank SS Bilderdijk and SS Matheran in Convoy HX-79.

19 October 1941

October 19th, 1941 (SUNDAY)

U.S.S.R.: Most of the diplomatic corps and Soviet government have left Moscow, but Stalin announces he is remaining. defence lines are being built at a hectic pace on three sides of the city.

Moscow: Troops from Siberia and the Far East arrive at the Moscow front.

Soviet resistance in the Vyazma pocket collapses as the last remnants of the outer defenses to Moscow are destroyed. Sea of Azov: Taganrog falls to the advancing German 11th Army.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: U-204 (Type VIIC) is sunk near Tangier, at position 35.46N, 06.02W, by depth charges from the British corvette HMS Mallow and sloop Rochester. 46 dead (all crew lost). (Alex Gordon)

AFGHANISTAN: The government consents to the British-Soviet request for ejection of Axis nationals.

CANADA: Minesweepers HMCS Minas and Malpeque arrived Halifax from Esquimalt.

UNITED STATES: President Roosevelt decides to go forward with the development of the atomic bomb.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: USN destroyers USS Charles F. Hughes (DD-428) and USS Gleaves (DD-423), while screening convoy HX 154, depth-charge suspicious contacts in positions 59°58'N, 23°15'W, and 60°00'N, 23°20'W, and 59°57'N, 22°41'W.

Unarmed U.S. freighter SS Lehigh is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-126 about 75 miles (120;.7 km) off Freetown, Sierre Leone, in position 08°26'N, 14°37'W. While there are no fatalities, four men are slightly injured.

USS Mason (DD-191), was commissioned as HMS Broadwater (H-81) on 2 Oct. 1940, as part of the bases-for-destroyers deal. Today she is escorting convoy SC48 between St. John's Newfoundland and Iceland.

Broadwater is torpedoed by U- 101 and sinks. (Ron Babuka)

U-71 fired two torpedoes at a cruiser escorted by two destroyers in the North Atlantic, but without success.

U-204 sank SS Inverlee.

While tracking Convoy OG 75 (U.K. to Gibraltar), German submarine U-204 is sunk about 11 nautical miles (21 kilometers) west of the Tangier Zone by depth charges from the British corvette HMS Mallow (K 91) and sloop HMS Rochester (L 50); all 46 crewmen are lost. (Alex Gordon)

U-206 sank SS Baron Kelvin.

19 October 1942

October 19th, 1942 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: 542 Squadron (Photo Reconnaissance) is formed at RAF Benson. (Bob Hart)(137)

Submarine HMS Terrapin laid down.

GERMANY: U-347 laid down.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: British submarine HMS/M Unbending (P 37) torpedoes and sinks the Italian destroyer Giovanni da Verazzano and a 4,459 ton merchant vessel south of Pantelleria Island.

The air offensive preliminary to the British Eighth Army ground attack west of El Alamein, Egypt begins as RAF aircraft and US Army, Middle East Air Force B-25 Mitchells hit a landing ground and B-24s claim a direct hit on vessel at Tobruk, Libya.

MADAGASCAR: East African troops press southward from Tananarive to clear the southern part of the island and in a two-pronged attack overcome opposition at Andriamanaline; the King's African Rifles capture 800 Vichy troops near Ivato.

INDIA: Delhi: General Stilwell presents Chiang Kai-shek with new plans for Chinese forces in Burma, including the arming of 30 more divisions.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, U.S. Colonel Leif Sverdrup's reconnaissance party completes march along Kapa Kapa trail, which is so poor that it is rejected as a possible route of advance, to upper Musa River, where Abel's Field is already in use. Sverdrup is the deputy to the Southwest Pacific Area's Engineer officer and he is charged with locating and developing landing fields. He began his march on 17 September.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The USN destroyer USS O'Brien (DD-415), damaged by submarine torpedo on 15 September 1942, breaks in two and sinks en route to United States for repairs, 53 miles north-northeast of Tutuila, Samoa.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The last elements of the IJA 2nd "Sendai" Division (Lieutenant General Masao Maruyama) step of along a primitive 20-mile road (the "Maruyama Road") through Guadalcanal's jungles and struggling toward attack positions south of the American-held airfields.

The "road" is a 24-inch (61 cm) wide trail hacked through the jungle for 20-miles (32.2 km). The initial march started on 16 October 16. Each member of the elite 2nd "Emperor's Own" Infantry Division lugs his rifle, pack and a 30-pound (13.6 kg) artillery shell over ridges and gorges. General Maruyama is confident his division will massacre Henderson Field's defenders with a surprise attack and his staff is already planning the surrender ceremony. Another 3,000 Japanese infantry supported by artillery and tanks are readying a diversionary attack west of the airfields. As yet, the Americans have not detected the moves.

During the day, a USN minesweeper arrives off Lunga Point with 175 55-U.S.-gallon (208.2 liter) drums of aviation fuel and a fuel barge is towed from the New Hebrides to Tulagi by a fleet tug. Cactus Air Force F4F Wildcats fly a constant CAP over the fuel.

SBDs Dauntless dive bombers of the USN's Bombing Squadron Six (VB-6) and Scouting Squadron Seventy One (VS 71) and Marine Scout Bombing Squadron One Hundred Forty One (VMSB-141) from Henderson Field attack three Japanese destroyers north of Guadalcanal, damaging HIJMS Uranami. IJA artillery fire closes Henderson Field for part of the day.

The USN submarine USS Grampus (SS-207) lands Australian coastwatchers on Choiseul Island.

NEW HEBRIDES ISLANDS: The USN submarine USS Amberjack (SS-219) arrives at Espiritu Santo, assigned temporarily to Commander, Aircraft, South Pacific, for duty. Over the next three days, two of the submarine's fuel tanks will be cleaned and converted to carry aviation gasoline. She will also take on board 100-pound (45 kilogram) bombs and embark USAAF enlisted ground crew for transportation to Guadalcanal.

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: The U.S. 25th Infantry Division is alerted for movement to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.

NEW CALEDONIA: The IJN submarine HIJMS I-19 launches a "Glen" reconnaissance aircraft (Kugisho E14Y, Navy Type 0 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane) to reconnoiter Nouméa.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: Aleutians: An Eleventh Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress flies weather reconnaissance and bomb runs over Attu, Semichi, Kiska, and Amchitka Islands; 6 B-24 Liberators dispatched to bomb Kiska Island abort the mission due to weather.

CANADA:

Corvette HMCS Sorel commenced refit Liverpool, Nova Scotia.

Corvette HMCS Summerside departed Halifax for UK and Operation Torch duties.

U.S.A.: Destroyer escorts USS Levy and McConnell laid down.

The War Department agrees to equip 30 more Chinese divisions.

The initial installation and deployment of the AN/ASB-3 airborne search radar is reported. This radar, developed by the Naval Research Laboratory for carrier based aircraft, has been installed in five TBF-1 Avengers by NAS New York, New York, and five SBD-3 Dauntlesses by NAS San Pedro, California. One aircraft of each type is assigned to Carrier Air Group Eleven (CVG-11) in USS Saratoga (CV-2) and the others shipped to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The remaining sets on the initial contract for 25 are to be used for spare parts and training.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The U.S. freighter SS Steel Navigator, straggling from convoy ON 137, is attacked by German submarine U-610; Steel Navigator briefly drives off the shadower with 5-inch (12.7 cm) gunfire, but the U-boat returns and torpedoes and sinks the freighter in position 49°20'N, 32°00'W. Hastily launched motor boat swamps in heavy seas; no.3 lifeboat swamps as the ship plunges and spills its 35 occupants into the sea. U-610 surfaces and approaches the survivors' boats and rafts; when questions shouted by the submarine's commander fail to get answers, the enemy threatens to cut a raft in two. After answers are given in the brief interrogation, the Germans refuse to provide a course to the nearest land and depart. Subsequently, survivors right no.3 boat and redistribute themselves; the boats becomes separated.

U-116 (Type XB) is listed missing in the North Atlantic, details and position not known. 55 dead (all hands lost). The last radiogram was sent on 6 October from approximate position 45.00N, 31.30W. (Alex Gordon)

U-332 sank SS Rothley.

19 October 1943

October 19th, 1943 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The rapid rise in venereal disease in Britain is the occasion of a long statement issued today by he archbishops of Canterbury and York on what they describe as "a moral as well as a medical problem." The chief cause of the spread of the disease is "fornication", which the church condemns as a sin. "Promiscuity threatens to destroy home life ... Moral resistance is of more value than physical precautions," they declare, and they call on Christians to take their stand against it. They also urge that more healthy recreation should be provided in camps and barracks.

Today the first antibiotic, Streptomycin, is isolated. (William L. Howard)

Frigate HMS Keats commissioned.

Minesweeper HMS Lightfoot commissioned.

SWEDEN: Gothenburg: The exchange of thousands of sick and seriously wounded British and German PoWs began at the Swedish port of Gothenburg this afternoon. Most of the British were captured in 1940 at Dunkirk; others were taken in last year's raid on Dieppe, including Canadians. Germans from Rommel's Afrika Korps were still in desert uniform.

This is the first PoW exchange between Germany and Britain of the war; negotiations for an earlier exchange in 1941 were broken off by Germany, which this time asked for the exchange: 5,000 Germans and 5,400 British and Imperial forces are now going home.

POLAND: SS General Odilo Globocnik, SS and police leader in the Lublin District of the Generalgouvernement, announces the end of Aktion Reinhard Operation REINHARD, the code name for the German plan to murder Polish Jews, and dissolution of the camps. Most SS personnel involved in Aktion Reinhard are transferred to the Adriatic coastal operation zone to fight the partisans and select and deport the Jews of that area. (Days)

U.S.S.R.: Pyatikhatki, west of Dnepropetrovsk is under Soviet attack also Krivoy Rog from the Kremenchug bridgehead. North of Kiev, Soviet units are consolidating their bridgeheads. Manstein is juggling units and attempting to reinforce to allow his forces holding the bend in the Dniepr River time to retreat.

Moscow: The foreign ministers of the "Big Three" Allied powers - Cordell Hull, Eden and Molotov - sat down together in the Kremlin today to tell one another, in the words of an official spokesman, "frankly and freely what is on each others' minds".

The talks, which are expected to last for ten days, will conclude with a firm pledge that the US, Britain and the Soviet Union will not consider any separate peace negotiations with Germany. Postwar co-operation between the Big Powers to guarantee peace and security will also be discussed. An outline plan for the creation of an international organization, open to all peace-loving states, has been drafted and is expected to be approved.

In a separate meeting in London today the US and Britain promised Stalin big increases in military aid in the next eight months: 2,700,000 tons will arrive via Soviet Pacific ports, 2,400,000 tons via the Persian Gulf and 1,000,000 tons by Arctic convoy.

Luftwaffe ace pilot Erich Hartmann is shot down and taken captive by Russian soldiers. However, he pretends to be wounded and when the opportunity arises he runs away. (Drew Philip Halévy)

ARCTIC OCEAN: The USN heavy cruiser USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37), accompanied by a U.S. and three British destroyers, transports Norwegian troops and equipment to Spitsbergen Island to re-establish bases destroyed in the German raid of 8 September 1943. A second Allied force, with aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4) included, provides cover for the operation.

U-737 was damaged by a collision with an enemy destroyer or an iceberg near Spitsbergen.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army's VI Corps area, the 168th Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division, opens an attack on Dragoni before dawn and finds that the Germans have withdrawn. The 133d Infantry Regiment finishes crossing the Volturno River northeast Dragoni and the 135th crosses to the southeast and heads toward Alife.

The offensive by the US Fifth Army (Clark) along the Volturno river bogs down due to bad weather and in the face of the skilful German defenses.

The Northwest African Air Force begins an air offensive against railroad bridges in Italy in the hope that the Germans will have to rely on coastal vessels and motor transport. During a low-level raid, XII Bomber Command B-24s bomb bridges at Porto Civitanova, south of Porto Sant' Elpidio, north of Pedaso, and north of Cupra Marittima; fighters, fighter-bombers, and light bombers of the XII Air Support Command, Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force, and RAF Desert Air Force attack the town of Boiano, gun positions and troop concentrations on the outskirts of town, and an ammunition dump and railroad tunnel nearby, Viterbo and Tarquinia landing fields, the towns of Cassino and Anzio, the railroad north of Pesaro and near Pineto, trains near Barisciano, troops near Mintumo, and vehicles at several points. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Allied planes sink a German transport near Crete. The ship is carrying 2,700 British and Italian prisoners; only 566 survive.

BORNEO: Local Chinese and native Suluks rise up against the Japanese occupation of North Borneo. The revolt, staged in the capital, Jesselton, resulted in the deaths of 40 Japanese soldiers. The revolt was dealt with quickly and brutally by the Japanese. They destroyed dozens of Suluk villages, rounded up and tortured thousands of civilians, and executed almost 200 without trial. In one extreme example of cruelty, several dozen Suluk women and children had their hands tied behind them and were hanged from their wrists from a pillar of a mosque. They were then shot down by machine-gun fire.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the Australian 9th Division, assisted by artillery, contains further Japanese attacks in the Finschhafen area while USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs and RAAF aircraft hit Sattelberg and surrounding areas.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Kara and Kahili Airfields on Bougainville Island are hit by 24 Thirteenth Air Force B-24s, 14 P-38 Lightnings and 20 P-40; and 8 PV-1 Venturas, 20 SBD Dauntless dive bombers, 12 TBF Avengers and 2 F4U Corsairs. The targets include AA emplacements. One PV-1 is lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC: An unopposed enemy air raid against Finschhafen causes no effective damage.

EAST INDIES: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and RAAF Hudsons bomb Abisu (Vila-De-Avis or Fuiloro) Airfield on Timor Island.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs and Australian aircraft bomb Gasmata (Tsurumi) Airfield on New Britain Island.

CANADA:

Patrol craft HMC HPC 32 ordered from Walter Pinaud of Baddeck , Nova Scotia.

Corvette HMCS Napanee completed forecastle extension refit Montreal, Province of Quebec.

U.S.A.: The Third (London) Protocol, extending through 30 June 1944, is signed. It promises 2.7 million tons (2,5 metric tonnes) to USSR via the Pacific route and 2.4 million (2,2 million) by either the northern Soviet ports or the Persian Gulf. (Glenn Stenberg)

Navy Secretary Frank Knox announces American subs have sunk 319 Japanese ships since Pearl Harbor.

Destroyer escorts USS Cronin and De Long laid down.

Destroyer escort USS Cates launched.

Destroyer escort USS Ramsden commissioned.

Destroyer USS Charles S Sperry and English laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-220 sank SS Delisle and SS Penolver in Convoy WB-65.

19 October 1944

October 19th, 1944 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The Eighth Air Force flies 2 missions.

Mission 683: 1,022 bombers and 753 fighters in 3 forces attack targets in Germany using PFF or GH; 5 B-24s, a B-17, a P-47 and a P-51 are lost:

- 381 B-24s are dispatched to hit the diesel engine and armored vehicle plant at Gustavsburg (50) and the Mainz marshalling yard (280) the secondary target; 5 B-24s are lost. Escort is provided by 195 P-47s and P-51s; a P-47 is lost.

- 217 B-17s hit the secondary target, Mannheim; 34 others hit a target of opportunity; a B-17 is lost. Escort is provided by 286 P-47s and P-51s; a P-51 is lost.

- 374 B-17s are dispatched to hit an artillery tractor plant at Mannheim (25); 257 hit the secondary, Mannheim; targets of opportunity are Karlsruhe (32), Kreuznach (10), Rudesheim (9), Bad Kreuznach (8), Steyer (2) and other (21). Escort is provided by 226 P-47s and P-51s.

Mission 684: 5 B-17s and 5 B-24s are dispatched to drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night.

Frigates HMS Loch Tarbert and Widemouth Bay launched.

BELGIUM: In the Canadian First Army's II Corps area, the newly arrived 52d Division enters action, taking over the Canadian 3d Division's bridgehead north of the Leopold Canal and continuing the reduction of the Breskens Pocket. A junction is made between the Leopold Canal and Savojaards Plaat bridgehead forces.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Seventh Army’s VI Corps area, the 36th Infantry Division completes the capture of Bruyères after three days of fighting. he 100th Infantry Battalion, 36th Division, takes Hill A, the key to Bruyeres, the 2nd Battalion takes Hill B, and enters the town. The 3d Infantry Division, less the 30th Infantry Regiment which remains in the Le Tholy area, closes in an assembly area behind the 45th Infantry Division in preparation for a drive on St Die. (Gene Hanson & Jack McKillop)

Barney Hajiro, a member of the US 442nd Regimental Combat Team, was a sentry on top of an embankment when he assisted Allied troops attacking a house 200 yards away by exposing himself to German fire directing fire at a strongpoint. He either killed or wounded two German snipers. (MOH)

GERMANY: German resistance is being worn down by the continuing fighting around Aachen.
The German commander exhorts his men to fight to the last man.

In the U.S. First Army's VII Corps area, German resistance at Aachen is diminishing rapidly; efforts to break the encirclement from outside the city cease and the garrison is told to fight to the finish. The 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, continues to clear the city and takes Salvator Hill. Task Force Hogan, 3d Armored Division, seizes the Lousberg heights and is given task of cutting the Aachen-Laurensberg highway.

"U.S. Major General Pete Corlett [commander XIX Corps] had been under intense strain since D-day. As I said previously, his health was not good. During the Aachen fight, he showed signs of breakdown. Unable to control a red-hot temper, he antagonized Hodges [commander, United States First Army] and his staff and, as he recalled candidly in his memoir, even his own loyal staff. On October 19, I relieved him of command, without prejudice, and recommended that he be returned to the States for 'rest and a complete physical check-up.' I replaced him with Ray McLain, the National Guardsman who had so ably commanded the 90th Division." [From A General's Life by Omar Bradley] (Jay Stone)

The Red Army pushes into East Prussia.

In East Prussia, the Soviet Army forces the withdrawal of the German 4.Armee (Hossbach) from the Tilsit area.

Alfred Naujocks deserts to the Americans and at Nuremberg the following year gives a number of sworn affidavits. In one he gives his account of the "faked incident" at Gleiwitz on the evening of 31 August 1939, which Hitler has used to justify his attack on Poland. (Shirer I)

During the night of 19/20 October, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 565 Lancasters and 18 Mosquitos in two forces, 4.5 hours apart to bomb Stuttgart; 564 aircraft hit the city with the loss of six Lancasters. The bombing is not concentrated but serious damage is caused to the central and eastern districts of Stuttgart and in some of the suburban towns. Among individual buildings hit are the important Bosch factory. A second mission is flown to Nuremburg by 263 Lancasters and seven Mosquitos; 258 aircraft bomb the city with the loss of two Lancasters. This is only a partial success for the No 5 Group method and the knock-out blow on Nuremberg, which has eluded Bomber Command for so long, is not achieved. The target area is found to be almost completely cloud-covered. The aiming point is believed to have been the centre of the city but the local report says that the bombing fell almost entirely in the southern districts, but this is the industrial area of Nuremberg. Mosquitos fly two mission without loss; 44 of 48 aircraft sent bomb Wiesbaden and five of six dispatched bombs Düsseldorf.

In Western Europe, weather prevents Ninth Air Force bomber operations but fighters attack a tank concentration east of Luneville, France, strafe targets northwest of Kaiserslautern, Germany, fly reconnaissance in western Germany, and provide cover for US Third and Seventh Army forces in eastern France.

U-2535, U-3026, U-4701 laid down.

U-3013 launched.

U-2515, U-3008, U-3507 commissioned.

NORWAY: U-957 (Type VIIC) is in collision with a German steamer in Lofoten Islands (Norway) and taken out of service at Trondheim on 21 Oct 1944. It is taken to England on 29 May 1945 and broken up. (Alex Gordon)

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army area, elements of the 6th South African Armoured Division gain positions on the slopes of Mt. Salvaro, though elements to the right are still short of Mt. Alcino, southeast of Mt. Salvaro. In the II Corps area, since the 34th Infantry Division has been unable to break through in center of corps front, the main effort is shifted to the right flank toward Mt Grande and Mt. Cerere. After reaching favorable positions for an attack and saturation bombardment of Mt. Grande area by aircraft and artillery, the 88th Infantry Division attacks in the evening, taking Mt. Cerere with ease and reaching the crest of Mt. Grande by dawn of 20 October, 24 hours ahead of schedule. The 85th Infantry Division assists the 88th and gains lower slopes of Mt. Fano. In the British XIII Corps area, the 78th Division attacks toward Mt. Spadura and Mt. dell Acqua Saluta with the 38th and 36th Brigades, respectively, taking the latter and gaining a precarious hold on Mt. Spadura. The 21st Brigade, Indian 8th Division, clears Mt. Pianoreno. The 17th Brigade gets elements to the top on Mt. Casalino, but they are driven off. The 1st Division's 66th Brigade gains a firm hold on Mt. Ceco and pushes toward Mt. delle Valle.

In the British Eighth Army's Polish II Corps area, the 5th Kresowa Division finds Civitella di Romagna undefended. In the Corps area, the 46th Division closes in on Cesena; elements push into the southern part of the city in a vain effort to take a bridge. The Indian 10th Division moves the rest of the 20th Brigade across the Savio River to the Falcino area; establishes another small bridgehead across the Savio with elements of 25th Brigade from Roversano during the night of 19/20 October. While the Canadian 1st Division is closing in on Cesano, the New Zealand 2nd Division reaches the road extending northeast from there.

Bad weather restricts strategic operations by the Fifteenth Air Force to reconnaissance missions.

Twelfth Air Force redesignates HQ XII Fighter Command as HQ XXII Tactical Air Command following a reorganization period during which the XXII Tactical Air Command was temporarily referred to as "X" Tactical Air Command and "X-Ray" Tactical Air Command, to distinguish it from HQ XII Fighter Command around which it was formed.

Twelfth Air Force B-26 Marauders attack the Mantua causeway, a railway fill at Ossenigo, and bridges at Calcinato and Peschiera del Garda; a Luftwaffe fighter attack northwest of Mantua accounts for 2 B-26s lost and 1 missing; at least 2 of the attacking fighters are destroyed; B-25s attack bridges in the Milan area at Lonate Pozzolo, Cameri, and Magenta; fighter-bombers of the XXII Tactical Air Command hit targets in support of ground forces, concentrating on the Monte Grande area, and attack rail lines and bridges north of the battle zone. On the night of 18/19 October A-20 Havocs hit targets of opportunity during armed reconnaissance in the Genoa and Bologna areas. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The German torpedo boat TA-18, (ex Italian Solferino) is sunk by the British destroyers HMS Termagant ® 89) and Tuscan ® 56).

CHINA: 100+ Fourteenth Air Force P-51 Mustangs and P-40s on armed reconnaissance over southern China hit numerous targets of opportunity from the Tungting Lake area to Luichow Peninsula; the fighter-bombers concentrate on rivercraft, troop compounds, and building areas.

BURMA: In the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) area, the 29th Brigade of the British 26th Division takes Mohnyin, where the Japanese have abandoned large supplies of stores and ammunition.

10 Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts bomb the approaches to 2 bridges in the Mawlu area and 15 support ground forces in the Mohnyin area, hitting the village of Nyaunggaing and damaging a nearby bridge and pounding the railroad station at Kadu.

JAPAN: An Eleventh Air Force B-24 bombs Kurabu Cape on Paramushiru Island in the Kurile Islands.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: The USN's Task Group 38.1 (Vice Admiral John S. McCain) and TG 38.4 (Rear Admiral Ralph E. Davison) continue attacks on principal Japanese airfields near Manila and shipping in the harbor. Navy carrier-based planes sink an army cargo ship and 4 merchant cargo ships, damage an oiler and a cargo ship so severely that the ship is run aground. TG 38.1 and TG 38.4 then proceed south to provide direct support for the landings at Leyte.

Meanwhile, TG 38.2 refuels at sea.

Aircraft from the escort aircraft carriers of Task Group 77.4 attack targets in the southern Philippines. Twenty four TBM Avengers and 48 FM Wildcats attack targets on Negros; 15 TBMs and 28 FMs attack targets on Panay. Throughout the day, a rotating force of 14 TBMs and 28 FMs patrol over the Dulag-Tacloban area on Leyte to attack ground targets as required.

On Luzon, Admiral Takijiro Onishi, commander of the Japanese 1st Air Fleet in the Philippines, activates a "Kamikaze Corps" to fly suicide missions against U.S. ships off Leyte. Onishi resorts to suicide tactics out of desperation. Japanese air attacks on American naval forces have been cut to ribbons, and he now believes the only way Japanese pilots can sink ships is to crash-dive them. When Onishi proposes the "divine wind" mission to two squadrons, every pilot volunteers.

The Leyte assault convoy moves safely to Leyte under protection of the USN Seventh Fleet. Underwater demolition teams (UDTs) complete a reconnaissance of the assault areas and preinvasion bombardment continues.

The USN submarine USS Narwhal (SS-167) lands men and supplies on southwest coast of Negros.

USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators attack shipping from Zamboanga south in the Sulu-Mindanao Island area.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Special Air Task Force (STAG 1) based on Stirling Island in the Treasury Islands, continues operations with Interstate TDR-1 target drones. Two flights (one TDR each) are launched against Japanese gun positions west of Ballale. In the first, one drone misses its target during its run; in the second, the drone drops part of its ordnance [the two four-100-pound (45.4 kg) bomb clusters] on the target before it crashes.

EAST INDIES: Far East Air Forces B-24s attack Parepare, Celebes Island. Fighter-bombers hit Amboina on Ambon Island and Boela Airfield on Ceram Island and shipping from Zamboanga south in the Sulu-Mindanao Island area, pound the airfield on Cebu Island, Philippine Islands, hit nearby shipping, and strafe Miti, Djailolo, and Hate Tabako on Halmahera Island.

NEW GUINEA: In Dutch New Guinea, A-20s and fighter-bombers blast airfields at Urarom, Sagan, and Babo.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-24s on armed reconnaissance from Saipan bomb a bridge, a pier, and the town area on Yap Island.

CENTRAL PACIFIC: USN destroyer escort USS Gilligan (DE-508) bombards Mille Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

0000 hours: Submarine USS Raton (SS-270) sinks a destroyer at 12-24 N, 118-42 E.

0300 hours: Submarine USS Tambor (SS-198) sinks a destroyer escort at 34-26 N, 139-52 E. (Skip Guidry)

In the Makassar Strait between east Borneo and west Celebes Island in the Netherlands East Indies, a USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberator sinks a Japanese weather ship.

CANADA:

Frigate HMCS Meon assigned to EG-27 Halifax.

Corvette HMCS Belleville commissioned.

Frigate HMCS Penetang commissioned.

U.S.A.: The US Navy allows black women to join. They will be allowed into Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). (William Howard)

Washington: Strong clashes between Allied leaders in China as the Japanese offensive progresses this autumn have persuaded President Roosevelt that the irascible General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, chief of staff to Chiang Kai-shek, had to go. It is surprising that he was not recalled sooner. Chiang had demanded his recall, claiming that Stilwell had no intention of co-operating with him. Roosevelt, finally convinced that the two were incompatible, informed Chiang yesterday that Stilwell was to be relieved and that he would supply another chief of staff.

It was Chiang's belief that Stilwell favoured the reconquest of Burma rather than the war in eastern China. Stilwell never hid his contempt for Chiang and referred to him both publicly and privately by his absurd codename "Peanut". Stilwell is to take up a desk job in the Pentagon. Mountbatten's deputy chief of staff, Lt-Gen A. C. Wedemeyer, replaces Stilwell as Chiang's adviser.

The motion picture "Bluebeard" is released today. This horror thriller, directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, stars John Carradine and Jean Parker. The plot is about an artist in Paris who strangles the models after he finishes their portraits.

In New York City, 20-year-old Marlon Brando makes his stage debut on Broadway in the hit play "I Remember Mama".

Destroyer USS William R Rush laid down.

Escort carrier USS Vella Gulf launched.

Submarine USS Carbonero launched.

19 October 1945

October 19th, 1945 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Aircraft carrier HMS Perseus commissioned.

HUNGARY: Martial Law is declared to quell growing unrest.