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1931   (SATURDAY)

SWITZERLAND: The League of Nations Council invokes Article 10 of the Covenant, to apply to the Manchurian situation "because Japan would not accept a draft resolution setting a definite date for troop withdrawal and explain "the fundamental principles governing normal relations" which she wished to discuss with China previously." Article 10 states, "The Members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members of the League. In case of any such aggression or in case of any threat or danger of such aggression the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled."

1933   (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Winston Churchill, addressing the House of Commons, gives an early warning on the shape of things to come by stating that Germany is well on the way to becoming the most heavily armed nation in the world. This prophetic statement is remarkable in that Germany is still bound by the Treaty of Versailles banning it from re-arming itself after the end of World War I. Germany did not officially declare formation of the Luftwaffe until March 1935.

UNITED STATES: Development of anti-blackout equipment is initiated with an authorization to the U.S. Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to develop and manufacture a special abdominal belt for use by pilots in dive bombing and other violent maneuvers.

1936   (SATURDAY)

GERMANY: The government recognizes the Italian annexation of Ethiopia.

UNITED KINGDOM: The government suggests plans for controlling all the channels by which war materials might reach Spain.

1938   (MONDAY)

GERMANY: Under the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, the city of Danzig, with the adjoining 731 square mile (1 893 square kilometer) territory, is established as a free state. German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Polish Ambassador Josef Lipski meet at Berchtesgaden. Ribbentrop invites Beck to visit Berlin and puts forward the following suggestions: (1) Danzig to be a German city. (2) Free port for Poland in Danzig with communications assured by extraterritorial railroad and highway through Danzig. (3) An Extraterritorial zone one kilometer (1,094 yards) wide for a railroad and highway across the Polish Corridor uniting the two portions of Germany carved out at Versailles. (4) Both nations to recognize and guarantee their frontiers. (5) An extension of the German-Polish treaty of Friendship. These proposals are standing and open until 10 August 1939, when Poland will reject them and declare "any intervention by the Reich Government (will be regarded as) an act of aggression.

The Royal Romanian Air Force loses several of its machines due to what are described as tragic accidents. At least two crashinto the Black Sea, the first going down and sinking, together with two of its crew, near the coastal town of Jurilovka. The second aircraft crashed in the same vicinity, ironically on a search and rescue mission for the first plane, three additional crewmen drowning while a fourth managed to swim to shore. A third aircraft was also lost around this time, although details are, for me, anyway, lacking. Adverse weather conditions (in the shape of a severe storm that struck Constanta with enough fury to damage and sink vessels in the harbour, leavinga hundred sailors missing, though ultimately only six were reported as dead)led to the loss of the first and may have impacted the other two aircraft as well.  The aircraft in question all appear to have been Savoia-Marchetti S.62 flying boats. Bernad's book on the Romanian Air Force indicates that three such machines, part of the Flotila de Hidroaviate (Hydroaviation Flotilla) of the Royal Romanian Air Force were lost during maneuvers being conducted with the Marina Regala Romana (Royal Romanian Navy off of southern Moldavia in October 1938, with a total of ten crewmen losing their lives, including the Flotilla's commander, Capitan Comandor Aviator (Lieutenant Colonel) Constantin Negru.  Source: (Assorted notes on file here at the fabled Archives, including those gleaned from Denes Bernad's Rumanian Air Force, Joba & Craciunoiu's Seaplanes Over The Black Sea, and copies of articles from The New York Times Newspaper. (Greg Kelley)

October 24th, 1939 (TUESDAY)

Homefront: A boom in sales of wireless sets and gramophones is a sign of the way the blackout has transformed homelife in Britain. Sales have leapt by about 30%. The misery of travelling in the blackout (and the closing of theatres and cinemas after 6pm) has disrupted social life. Entertaining has virtually ceased, so people stay at home and listen to records or radio shows such as 'Band Wagon' or 'ITMA'. Families whose children were not evacuated are being drawn closer together. "There are many firesides where the family groups itself as it has not done since Victorian days" say the Daily Telegraph. "Some of us have begun to ponder what our ancestors did in the dark winter evenings to while away the hours before bedtime."

     The U.S. freighter SS Wacosta is detained by British authorities; the freighter SS Iberville, detained by the British since 13 October, is released after cargo due to be discharged at Antwerp and Rotterdam, Holland, is seized as contraband. British authorities at Kirkwall remove 468 bags of U.S. mail destined for Gothenborg, Sweden and 18 for Helsinki, Finland, from the Finnish freighter SS Astrid Thorden.

BELGIUM: Allied forces agree that in the event of a German attack, to advance into Belgium to the Scheldt River.

FRANCE: Paris: Poland's gold reserves arrive, having travelled from Warsaw via Romania and Syria.

GERMANY: U-563, U-564, U-565, U-566, U-567, U-568, U-569, U-570, U-571, U-572, U-573, U-574 ordered.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet authorities intern the U.S. freighter SS City of Flint's German prize crew from armored ship Deutschland at Murmansk.

UNITED STATES: Women's nylon stockings are sold publicly for the first time, in Wilmington, Delaware, the home of DuPont Chemical Company.

ATLANTIC OCEAN:

U-19 sank SS Konstantinos Hadjipateras.

U-37 sank SS Ledbury, SS Menin Ridge and SS Tafna.

In the Caribbean Sea, British light cruiser HMS Orion (85) and the Canadian destroyer HMCS Saguenay (D 79) intercept the German tanker SS Emmy Friedrich (4372 BRT) in the Yucatan Strait between the western tip of Cuba and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. When the British light cruiser HMS Caradoc (D 60) also arrives on the scene the Germans scuttled their own ship to prevent her capture.

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October 24th, 1940 (THURSDAY)

COLOMBIA: The German 11-knot freighter SS Helgoland (3,700 GRT) broke out of the Colombian port of Puerto Columbia. She eluded pursuit by Clemson-class destroyers USS Bainbridge (DD-246), Overton (DD-239) and Sturtevant (DD-240) from the USN Gulf Neutrality Patrol, and passed into the open sea through the Antilles Islands near St. Thomas, on 03 Nov. Helgoland reached St. Nazaire on 30 Nov. This was one of the most daring and successful exploits by a German blockade-runner during the Second World War.

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October 24th, 1941 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: No. 137 Squadron RAF begins operations over Europe equipped with the Westland Whirlwind.

Corvette HMS Saxifrage launched.

FRANCE: Bordeaux: The Germans execute another 50 hostages bringing to 100 those killed in the last 24 hours.

GERMANY: Berlin: Adolf Eichmann">Eichmann approves a scheme to gas Jews using exhaust fumes in specially adapted vans.

U.S.S.R.: The German Sixth and 17th Armys succeed in their joint attach and occupy Kharkov in the Ukraine after five days of heavy fighting. The Soviet 28th Army withdraws in good order. This city would change hands four times during the course of the war. Belgorod is also captured.

     The last Soviet remnants of the Bryansk Pocket surrender. The German Ninth Army, freed from the operation, moves to support the Third Panzer Army at Kalinn but fails to jump start the stalled offensive there.

EAST AFRICA: The last combat between a Gloster Gladiator and a CR-42 occurs near Ambazzo, when a 3 Squadron RSAAF (Royal South African Air Force) intercepts an Italian fighter. (Steve Alvin)(163, 164 and 165)

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: MacArthur"> MacArthur requests an additional US $3 million (US $43.6 million in 2008 dollars) to build facilities at Del Monte (Mindanao) and five other airfields.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The IIWO of U-97 was badly injured in an accident onboard, forcing the boat to return to base.

After some successful attacks in the morning against convoy HG-75, U-564 was attacked twice in the evening, first by an aircraft with one bomb and 3 hours later by an escort with depth charges. The boat sustained no damage.

While escorting convoy HG-75 from Gibralter to the U.K., the destroyer HMS Cossack (G 03) is hit by a torpedo from the German submarine U-563. The explosion blows off the bow and forward section of the ship killing 159 officers and ratings. Still afloat, the vessel is taken in tow stern first by a tug from Gibralter but bad weather causes the tow to be slipped and the Cossack sinks soon after about 229 nautical miles (425 kilometers) west of Gibraltar in position 35.56N, 10.04W. Some survivors are rescued by the destroyer HMS Legion (G 74) and the corvette HMS Carnation K 00) and taken to Leith, Scotland.

U-564 sank SS Alhama, SS Ariosto and SS Carsbreck in Convoy HG-75.

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October 24th, 1942 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

Frigate HMS Cuckmere launched.

Minesweeper HMS Friendship launched.

Frigate HMS Wear commissioned.

Destroyer HMS Haydon commissioned.

FRANCE: During the night of 24/25 October, RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines off three ports and drop leaflets over three cities. Five each aircraft lay mines off La Pallice (two aircraft lost) and Lorient and three off St. Nazaire. Leaflet drops are made by five aircraft over Paris, four over Lille and two over Lens.

GERMANY:

U-244 laid down.

U-276 launched.

U-230, U-732 commissioned.

POLAND: The Café Club (a German Army recreation center in Warsaw) is bombed by members of the Communist Gwardia Ludowa (People's Guard) in retaliation for the public execution of 50 of its members.

NORWAY: During the night of 24/25 October, six RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines off Stavanger without loss.

ITALY: Italian targets have been hit for the first time by British-based RAF Lancaster bombers (Whitley's first bombed Italy, staging through the Channel Islands in 1940). Last night 100 Lancasters attacked Genoa, and today a total of 112 machines flew below barrage balloons to hit Milan in day light. Tonight further raids are planned for targets in the Milan/Genoa/Turin triangle.

This prolonged assault is to coincide with the Eighth Army's offensive at El Alamein. A Lancaster pilot said later: "We crossed the Channel at almost zero altitude and over France in one enormous mass at 50 feet. The French waved to us." They flew over the Alps below the summit of Mont Blanc, found Italy under cloud and emerged through this at 4,000 feet over Milan railway station. Another crew flew over the football stadium at half-time, the ball clearly visible in the net alongside orange peel. When they released their 4,000-pound "cookies" there was panic below them. One pilot described hitting a factory: "That's a factory, that was." The sun was setting over the Alps as they began the 750-mile flight home.

Only three of the force were shot down: proof for some that the tactic of flying low, in tight formation, is a recipe for success on daylight missions, despite the lack of firepower on the Lancasters.

During the day, 88 RAF Bomber Command Lancasters are involved in another risky daylight operation against Milan; 77 bomb the city. The aircraft fly about 1,400 miles (2 253 kilometers) to make the first daylight attack on Italy by British planes from home bases. The aircraft proceed independently by a direct route across France, using partial cloud cover, to a rendezvous at Lake Annecy, France. The Alps are then crossed and Milan bombed in broad daylight. Defences are weak and accurate bombing takes place. The raid came as a complete surprise in Milan. One hundred thirty five tons (122 metric tonnes) of bombs fall in 18 minutes and 30 large fires are started; 441 houses are destroyed or damaged. R.A.F. reconnaissance photographs later discover that a number of commercial and industrial buildings are also hit, including the Caproni aircraft factory. At least 171 people are killed. Three Lancasters are lost, one near Milan and two over Northern France and the English Channel: A further Lancaster crashes in England and its crew are all killed.

     During the night of 24/25 October, Milan is again hit; 71 aircraft, 25 Halifaxes, 23 Stirlings and 23 Wellingtons, are dispatched; 43 bomb the city. Four Wellingtons and two Stirlings are lost, 8.5 per cent of the force. Storms en route disperse the bomber force; some aircraft fly over Switzerland and are "warned" by anti-aircraft fire. Local reports say that little further damage is caused.

EGYPT: Around midnight last night, General Montgomery and the 195,000 Allied troops of the British 8th Army begin their long awaited attack against German positions and Field Marshal Rommel. Montgomery has overseen meticulous preparation for this attack. Complicated measures for deception; extensive preparation for artillery bombardments; and training in night movements mark his preparation. The XXX Corps will push its infantry through the minefields; X Corps with 2 Armoured Divisions will follow and hold off counterattacks while the infantry widens the hole in the German line. In the final phase, the armour will finish off the German Armour. The British hold a 2:1  advantage in tanks, men, guns and air support. The German armour is grouped in two areas due to lack of fuel. German and Italian units have been mixed on the line by Rommel to provide reliable German contingent everywhere.

The initial British attack is by four infantry divisions of XXX Corps abreast on a narrow front (2 NZ, 51 Highland, 9 Aust and 3 South African). There is plenty of artillery support and tactical surprise. But they encounter very thick minefields and well prepared Axis positions.

The German 164th and Italian Trento Divisions with support from the 15th Panzer and Littorio receive the main attack. British forces do not achieve their objectives but are not far short. Rommel is in Germany and General Stumme is in command. During a visit to the front, Stumme dies of a heart attack.

The German reaction to the attack is delayed and inconsistent. Rommel receives word of the attack in the afternoon and makes plans for an immediate return to the front.

El Alamein: In the desert night the troops braced themselves for the greatest battle yet. Some checked their weapons for the hundredth time that day, some played cards in the brilliant moonlight, officers glanced at their watches. Some men prayed.

At 9.40 precisely last night, the desert silence was rent by the crash of 1,000 heavy guns, so powerful that the ground shook under the feet of the engineers who moved forward into the "devil's garden" - Rommel's five-mile-deep minefields - clearing lanes and marking them with white tape.

The first barrage lasted for 15 minutes. For a few seconds before 10pm the skirl of bagpipes could be heard down the lines before an even more intensive bombardment opened up. This was the cue for the infantry to begin its advance with the 51st Highland, 1st South African and New Zealand Divisions, their bayonets fixed, going forward at a steady 75 strides a minute to clear the way for the waiting armoured divisions. The speed of the Highlanders' advance brought them under fire from their own artillery as well as the Germans'. Casualties were high, but they managed to storm their first objective, the heavily-defended Miteiriya Ridge.

Lieutenant-General Montgomery had no option but to make a direct frontal assault. The impassable Qattara Depression precludes any question of an encircling operation. The 9th Australian Division is preparing for a tough fight in the north. The Indian 44th Division is fighting a diversionary battle in the south. 

Everything depends on the tanks of XXX Corps, new Grants and Shermans, breaking through. But so many tanks are trying to get through that a massive traffic snarlup is blocking the lanes, a perfect target for German artillery. Sharp words were spoken in "Monty's" caravan later in the day before the tanks moved again.

By 0700 Freyberg (GOC 2 NZ Div) feels that the armoured breakout is still possible, but only if "a supreme and immediate effort were made." He recced the routes and makes the plan himself - X Corps' 8th armoured brigade is behind him and in position to make the break out, while Freyberg's own 9th armoured brigade will open the way. X Corps and its division commanders dithered, then decided that more support was needed for such an attack to be assured of success. The opportunity slips away.

Montgomery was angry with his armoured commanders. During the day (24 October) he issued orders for the infantry divisions to advance the short distance left to their original objectives and hold, while X Armoured Corps was again to push through them and break out. The Infantry did their bit but X Corps did not. The armoured columns became hopelessly congested whilst trying to pass the infantry's lines - this was to be expected, but the aggressive and decisive leadership which could have solved the crisis was conspicuously lacking, from corps level down. (Michael Alexander)

     US Army, Middle East Air Force B-25 Mitchells support the British Eighth Army Offensive west of El Alamein hitting troop concentrations, tent areas, gun emplacements, and vehicles; P-40s, working with the British and South African Air Forces, escort medium and light bombers and hit motor transports and tanks.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, the Australian 16th Brigade, 7th Division, continues to drive the Japanese back along the Kokoda Track but meets heavy resistance at Eora Creek. Meanwhile, after an exhausting overland journey, the head of the U.S. 2d Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, reaches Jaure. From there the force is to move to the Buna area via Natunga and Bofu, with the antitank and Cannon Companies protecting its rear and harassing the Japanese in the Wairopi area.

     In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells hit Lae Airfield.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Guadalcanal: The Japanese attack columns spend the day fighting the jungle. Two more assaults are under way along the Lunga and Tenaru rivers by the Japanese 2nd Infantry Division under the command of General Maruyama. The Japanese have sustained heavy losses, particularly at the hands of the newly-arrived "Americal" division. A Japanese column is observed east of the Matanikau River on the foothills of Mt Austen in the afternoon and bombarded by artillery and aircraft with unobserved results. The main attack south of Henderson Field finally about 10:00 pm isolated units of the main body meet the defence line held by 1st Btn, 7th Marines. The main Japanese attack which was originally scheduled for October 21, then postponed several times has finally started. The main portion of the battle will occur tomorrow.

Shortly after midnight 24/25 October, a regiment of the main Japanese assault force attacks the southern flank of the Lunga perimeter, where 1st Battalion of the 7th Marine Regiment is thinly spread along a 2,800-yard (2 560 meter) front, the 2d Battalion having been withdrawn to plug a gap between the Lunga perimeter and the forward positions along the Matanikau River. Marines, assisted by fire of adjacent troops, the 2d Battalion of the 164th Infantry Regiment, and reinforced during night by the 3d Battalion of the 164th Infantry Regiment, hold against repeated attacks, and the Japanese retire during the morning of 25 October.

     USMC and USAAF fighters at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal Island, continue to inflict damaging losses upon the Japanese naval air force; Japanese ground forces, attacking aggressively, are again repulsed by defenses around Henderson area.

D’ENTRECASTEAUX ISLANDS: Organized resistance against Australian troops on Goodenough Island ceases; 250 Japanese are withdrawn to Rabaul, New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago, by destroyers after nightfall.

PACIFIC OCEAN: USS Nautilus (SS-168) sinks a cargo ship at 41-10 N, 141-38 E. (Skip Guidry)

At 1245 hours, two U.S. naval aircraft carrier forces, comprised of USS Enterprise (CV-6) and Hornet (CV-8), rendezvous about 288 nautical miles (534 kilometers) northeast of Vila, Efate Island, New Hebrides Islands, and come under command of Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, commander of Task Force 16.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Japanese decide to abandon Attu and move the troops to Kiska. The Americans are unaware of this, and never know they could have taken the island without a shot. Kiska, however, is being turned into a fortress, with underground bunkers, flak guns, and midget submarine pens.

Three USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses hit the Japanese-held Kiska Island submarine base; results are not observed; and a weather reconnaissance flight is made over Attu Island.

U.S.A.: Vice Admiral W. F. Halsey relieved Vice Admiral R. L Ghormley as Commander of Naval Forces in the South Pacific. Vice Admiral A. S. Carpender relieved Vice Admiral H. F. Leary as Commander of Naval Forces in the SW Pacific. Admiral Leary took over the task force command of Admiral William S. Pye. In the wake of various situations around Guadalcanal, Adm. Nimitz felt Ghormley was something of a Nervous Nellie and simply not sufficiently aggressive or tactically aware enough to appreciate situations and act accordingly. Contrarily, the charismatic "Bull" Halsey, who since his midshipman days at the Naval Academy had been perceived as notably aggressive almost to a fault, was already well known to most officers and many sailors by reputation (bearing in mind that at that time, most men were experienced regulars) and promptly got the energetic support of anyone under him. Announcement of Halsey's takeover was met with considerable enthusiasm and a sharp upturn in morale, not only by navymen but also amongst the embattled Marines ashore. The only people who did not welcome the change were senior IJN officers, who also knew of his reputation. (N.B. -- In large measure, this aspect lay behind the 1944 decision to put Ozawa and his mostly aircraft-bare carriers and support vessels out as a decoy north of the Philippines, feeling almost certain that Nimitz would take off after them -- which he did).

US Navy announced they had attacked the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.

     The final detachment of the Western Naval Task Force sails from Hampton Roads, Virginia for North Africa. The covering group of warships sails from Casco Bay, Maine.

Spike Jones and his City Slickers' record of "Der Fuehrer's Face" with vocal by Carl Grayson makes it to the Billboard Pop Singles chart The song is from the Walt Disney animated short "In Nutzi Land.". This is the first of his records to make the charts and it stays there for 10 weeks and rises to Number 3.

Destroyer USS Colahan laid down.

Submarine USS Robalo laid down.

Destroyer USS Daly launched.

Minesweeper USS Pheasant launched.

Submarine USS Snook commissioned.

Destroyer USS Laub commissioned.

Over 8,000 Japanese American prisoners are working to save the beet and potato crop harvest in various western states.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: An RAF Liberator (Sqdn. 224/G) sinks U-599 northeast of the Azores, at position 46.07N, 17.40W, by depth charges, the third U-boat sunk by the RAF in four days. All crew of 44 are lost. (Alex Gordon)

During battle against convoy OS-42 in the North Atlantic, an escort attacked U-301 and U-620 with depth charges, but the boats sustained no damage.

U-383 sank SS Jon Olafsson.

U-516 sank SS Holmpark.

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October 24th, 1943 (SUNDAY)

NETHERLANDS: During the night of 24/25 October, RAF Bomber Command Stirlings and Wellingtons lay mines in two areas: six drop mines in the Frisian Islands and five lay mines off Texel Island without loss.

FRANCE: Two hundred USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders bomb Nivillers at Beauvais, and airfields at Montdidier and Saint-Andre-de-L'Eure.

During the night of 24/25 October, four USAAF Eighth Air Force bombers drop leaflets over the country without loss.

GERMANY: During the night of 24/25 October, RAF Bomber Command attack six targets in the Ruhr area: five bomb Emden, four each hit Cologne and Dusseldorf, two attack the Krupps steel factory in Rheinhausen and one each attack Dortmund and the Buderich castings factory in Dusseldorf.

AUSTRIA: USAAF XII Bomber Command B-24 Liberators attack two targets: 23 bomb aviation industry targets at Wiener-Neustadt and 12 hit the marshalling yard at Ebenfurth.

U.S.S.R.: The Soviet Army achieves a breakthrough on the Dnepr River and captures Melitopol.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army's VI Corps area, the 133d Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division takes St. Angelo and commanding ground beyond without opposition.

     USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers bomb Tirana Airfield, a railroad bridge north of Orvieto, and a viaduct at Terni. Aircraft of the USAAF XII Air Support Command, Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force (NATBF) and RAF Desert Air Force attack communications and shipping targets, hitting vessels, vehicles, trains, roads, bridges, and the town areas in and around Formia, Sora, Chieti, Minturno, Sessa Aurunca, Popoli, Terracina, between Ancona-Pedaso, Frosolone (just before it is taken by allied ground forces).

     During the night of 24/25 October, 70 RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group attack the airfield at Guidonia.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Whilst carrying 200 soldiers to reinforce the garrison on Leros, destroyer HMS Eclipse is mined East of Kalymnos at 37 01N 27 11E. There are 140+ casualties. (Alex Gordon)(108)

Corvette HMS Hyacinth loaned from Royal Navy at Alexandria and renamed HS Apostolis. Operated in the Mediterranean and during the Greek Civil War.

U-453 laid a field of 23 mines off Brindisi (Italy); the minefield did not account for any sinkings.

BURMA: Eight USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Htawgaw while on a ferry flight over the Hump.

FRENCH INDOCHINA; Fourteen USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators and 13 P-40s attack a barracks area at Co Bi, Vietnam.

NEW GUINEA: USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs attack Japanese positions in the Lae area of Northeast New Guinea and B-24 Liberators carry out a light attack on Manokwari in Dutch New Guinea.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: At least 45 USAAF Fifth Air Force bombers are destroyed on the ground at Vunakanau (West Airfield, Rabaul Upper ), Rapopo, and Tobera Airfields on New Britain Island during attacks by 50+ B-25 Mitchells; the B-25s and 50+ escorting P-38 Lightnings claim 40+ Japanese airplanes shot down.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Thirty six USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, along with 24 Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) (P-40) Kittyhawks and four USN F4U Corsairs, in one force, and 20 USAAF fighter and 70+ USN fighters and dive bombers in another force, attack Kahili Airfield on southern Bougainville Island.

PACIFIC OCEAN: 0100 hours: USS Silversides (SS-236) sinks two cargo ships and an armed tanker at 02-00 N, 144-46 E. (Skip Guidry)

     In the Solomon Sea, USMC land-based aircraft sink Japanese destroyer HIJMS Mochizuki about 95 nautical miles (176 kilometers) south-southwest of Rabaul, New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago, in position 05.42S, 151.40E.

U.S.A.:

Escort carrier USS Rudyerd Bay laid down.

Escort carrier USS Kasaan Bay launched.

Destroyer escort USS Carroll commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-566 (Type VIIC) is scuttled in the North Atlantic west of Leixoes, at position 41.12N, 09.31W, after being damaged by 6 depth charges from a British Wellington aircraft (Sqdn. 179/A). 49 survivors. (Alex Gordon)

After sinking the ship Siranger, U-155 took aboard the injured third officer of the ship and rendered to him such assistance as was possible on board the U-boat.

The captain of U-505, Kptlt Peter Zschech, committed suicide while under a heavy depth charge attack on 24 Oct. This was the only such case in the war. The IWO, Meyer, saved the boat and brought it back to port.

U-155 sank SS Siranger.

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October 24th, 1944 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Frigate HMS Wigtown Bay laid down.

NORTH SEA: U-673 sank at 0115hrs in the North Sea, north of Stavanger, Norway, in position 59.20N, 05.53E, after running aground near Smaaskjär following a collision with U-382. Raised on 9 Nov 1944 and moved to Stavanger. Surrendered to Norway. Broken up.

NETHERLANDS: The 2nd Canadian Division is advancing long the Beveland Isthmus.  Inland the British XII Corps reach Hertogenbosch.

When S.D. (Sicherheitsdienst, the security service of the SS) officer Herbert Oelschagel is murdered by the Dutch resistance on 23 October in Amsterdam, the German reprisal is swift and severe. Today, 29 civilians are arrested and pedestrians on the Apolloaan are forced at gunpoint to witness their execution. At the same time, several buildings are deliberately set on fire.

RAF Hawker Typhoons of Nos. 193, 197, 257, 263 and 266 Squadrons, led by Gp. Capt. D. E. Gillam raid the Headquarters of the German Fifteenth Army at Dordrecht. Attacking with both 500-lb and 1,000-lb bombs, the Typhoons completely destroy the target, killing over 70 enemy staff officers. (22)

FRANCE: French automaker and accused German collaborator Louis Renault dies on this day in a Paris military prison hospital of undetermined causes. During World War I, Renault served his nation with the "Taxis de la Marne," a troop-transport vehicle, and in 1918, with the Renault tank. With the German occupation of France during World War II, the industrialist, who had served his country so well during World War I, mysteriously offered his Renault tank factory and his services to the Germans, perhaps believing that the Allies' cause is hopeless. The liberation of France in 1944 saw the arrest of Louis Renault as a collaborator, and the Renault company is nationalized. The 67-year-old Renault, who likely suffered torture during his post-liberation detainment, died soon after his arrest and before he is tried.

     In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, the 3d Infantry Division commits its full strength to a drive on St Die as the 30th Infantry Regiment, having moved north, joins in an attack to right of 7th Infantry Regiment. The 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, takes the town of Mortagne, on the German side of the Mortagne River.

     In the French 1stArmy area, General Jean de Lattre, commander of the 1st Army, issues secret instructions to I Corps for an offensive toward Belfort, Operation INDEPENDENCE. I Corps is to be strongly reinforced for the operation. Extensive deceptive measures are taken to conceal the place of projected attack and take the Germans by surprise.

GERMANY: The USAAF Eighth Air Force dispatches 415 P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs to attack aircraft and ground targets in the Hannover-Kassel area; 73 bomb flak positions at Elburg, a factory near Nienburg, and miscellaneous ground targets; bad weather causes other fighter-bombers to jettison bombs in the English Channel and Zuider Zee in the Netherlands; the fighter-bombers strafe transportation and other ground targets with good results.

     Bad weather cancels all USAAF Ninth Air Force operations except fighter patrols by the IX and XXIX Tactical Air Commands over western Germany; the fighters attack rail targets.

     During the night of 24/25 October, RAF Bomber Command sends 57 Mosquitos to bomb Hannover; 54 bomb the city without loss. Other Mosquito targets are: four bomb Oberhausen, three hit Aschaffenburg, two hit the marshalling yard at Aschaffenburg and one bombs Rheine; there are no losses. Lancasters and Halifaxes lay mines in the Kattegat.

U-2538, U-3029 laid down.

U-2344 launched.

U-2516 commissioned.

NORWAY: Eight RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off Oslo without loss.

GREECE: British units enter Lamia, about 95 miles (153 kilometers) northwest of Athens.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army area, Mt Termine falls to the South African 6th Armoured Division. In the II Corps area, the Germans regain Vedriano and capture most of Company G, 351st Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division. The 88th and 85th Infantry Divisions continue an attack the on right flank of corps during the night of 24/25 October but make little headway. In the British XIII Corps area, the 78th Division consolidates positions on Mt. Spadura while the 61st Brigade, 6th Armoured Division, pushes toward Mt. Taverna, reaching Orsara.

     In the British Eighth Army's V Corps area, the Indian 10th Division drives quickly toward the Ronco River on the south flank of the corps; the 4th Division advances its left flank to a road junction of Madonna di Cerbiano and its right, along Highway 9, to Castellaccio. The Canadian I Corps pursues retreating Germans toward the Ronco River.

     Weather grounds USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers but 300+ XXII Tactical Air Command fighters and fighter-bombers attack targets in support of the U.S. Fifth Army south of Bologna and hit communications and shipping in the Turin-Genoa and eastern Po Valley areas, destroying 14 locomotives and 100+ railroad cars.

INDIA: The U.S. Army China-Burma-India Theater is split into two theaters, India- Burma Theater (IBT) and China Theater (CT). Headquarters India-Burma Theater is established at New Delhi with Lieutenant General Daniel I. Sultan in command.

CHINA: The U.S. Army China-Burma-India Theater is split into two theaters, India- Burma Theater (IBT) and China Theater (CT). The China Theater headquarters is established at Chungking Major General Albert C. Wedemeyer. Major General Claire Chennault, Commanding General USAAF Fourteenth Air Force, is temporarily in charge of China Theater, pending assumption of command by General Wedemeyer. Headquarters USAAF Fourteenth Air Force is reassigned from US Army Forces, China-Burma-India Theater to US Forces, China Theater.

     About 80 USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s, P-51 Mustangs and P-38 Lightnings on armed reconnaissance over southeast China, southwest China, and eastern Burma hit runways, storage facilities, town areas, troops, horses, gun positions, and other targets of opportunity around Amoy, Lohochai, Tanchuk, Sinthe, Menghsu, Pingnam, Mangshih and Chefang, China and Lashio, Burma.

BURMA: Headquarters Tenth Air Force is reassigned from US Army Forces, China-Burma-India Theater to US Forces, India-Burma Theater.

     Between 24 and 27 October, USAAF Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers and B-25 Mitchells steadily support Allied troops on the northern Burma front, attacking road and rail communications, troop concentrations and supply dumps, and sweeping airfields; the strikes include close support of British troops advancing on the right flank of the front known as the "Rail Corridor," and of Chinese forces pushing down the left flank along the Myitkyina-Bhamo road.

JAPAN: On Paramushiru Island in the Kurile Islands, three USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Kashiwabara and Kurabu Cape; four B-25 Mitchells weather-abort a photo mission to the island; two others on a shipping sweep off Kurabu hit a freighter, which is observed listing and smoking, and strafe two submarine chasers.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: 

In the X Corps area on Leyte Island, the 1st Squadron of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, moves by water to Babatngon and sets up a defense perimeter, from which patrols move along the coast. Troop C, reinforced, of the 8th Cavalry Regiment, after a delay because of a Japanese air attack on shipping in Tacloban harbor, witch causes minor damage, sails to La Paz, on Samar Island and establishes a beachhead and blocks the road to Basey; after nightfall they repel a Japanese thrust against the block. The main body of the 1st Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, begins an overland journey northward along Highway1 and reaches Guintiguian. The control of Juanico Strait is thus secured. In the Palo area, the 1st Battalion of 34th Infantry Regiment takes Hill Nan without opposition and is passed through by the 3d Battalion, which takes the next Hill, Mike, before Hill C, also without opposition, preliminary fire having been highly effective. The 2d Batta

 lion, 19th Infantry Regiment, continues efforts to take Hill B, finding the Japanese well entrenched on a crest higher than its own. The 19th Infantry Regiment, moving south along Highway1 in an effort to make contract with the XXIV Corps, takes San Joaquin, south of Palo. In the XXIV Corps area, the 96th Infantry Division’s 383d Infantry Regiment, still beset by supply problems, holds their current positions and patrols to locate possible supply routes to the rear. A patrol finds the Japanese established at Tabontabon. The 382d takes Anibung and Hindang. In the 7th Infantry Division zone, the 17th Infantry Regiment clears Burauen and, after a brief pause, starts toward Dagami. The 32d Infantry Regiment, turns northwest toward Bun airstrip from San Pablo airfield but is so strongly opposed that it falls back to San Pablo with assistance of 3d Battalion.

     USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators bomb Buayoan Airfield on Mindanao Island while B-25 Mitchells on armed reconnaissance hit small shipping and troops.

     U.S. freighter SS Augustus Thomas, anchored in San Pedro Bay, Leyte, is attacked by a Japanese plane. The ship's Armed Guard gunfire sets the aircraft ablaze but the kamikaze presses home his attack, a wing striking the stack of the nearby tug USS Sonoma (ATO-12) before it crashes the freighter's starboard side. The bombs detonate in the water between the two ships, and the exploding suicider sets Sonoma afire. There are no casualties on board Augustus Thomas (41-man merchant complement, 27-man Armed Guard and 480 troop passengers), which is subsequently beached by tugs USS Chowanoc (ATF-100) and Whippoorwill (ATO-169). Sonoma subsequently sinks off Dio Island, near Dulag.

 Admiral Sherman's TG 38.3 is the target of Japanese land based air strikes.  USS Princeton is fatally damaged.

 TG 38.2 scout planes find Admiral Kurita's Center Force which include the super battleships YAMATO and MUSASHI. During the day  several attacks from 3 of TF 38s task groups strike. Amongst the weapons deployed to defend against the US air attack are the "San-Shiki" incendiary shrapnel projectiles. These shells (nicknamed "Beehive") were fired from the 18.1-inch guns and consisted of 6,000 twenty millimetre steel balls that would explode by using a time fuse.  Battleship Musashi  sinks after taking multiple torpedo and bomb strikes, in the early  afternoon. One cruiser is damaged and turns back. Due to the weight of  these attacks, Kurita turns back. Then during the evening, he again turns  east to find the US invasion forces. Nishimura's Southern Force takes  only negligible damage from air strikes during the day. (Ken Friedman and Edward J. Rudnicki and Michael Turton)

 Admiral Oldendorf assembles battleships from his bombardment forces to  intercept Nishimura. These include several battle   ships which were returned  to service from Pearl Harbor.

 During the night Admiral Halsey turns north with the US 3rd Fleet for  Ozawa's carriers; the decoy force. Kurita has had ships sunk and damaged  and has withdrawn and Oldendorf will handle Nishimura.

Submarine USS Darter grounded in the Palawan Passage while tracking the Japanese Center Force fleet and scuttled by her crew to prevent her capture. Her crew was taken onboard the submarine USS Dace and taken to Fremantle, arriving there on 7 November 1944.

BORNEO: USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators, B-25 Mitchells, and fighter-bombers hit the Sandakan, British North Borneo area and sink a Japanese sink army cargo ship off Sandakan.

EAST INDIES: USAAF Far East Air Forces P-38 Lightnings bomb the Amboina reservoir areas on Ceram Island.

NEW GUINEA: USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs and fighter-bombers again attack Babo, Moemi, Sagan, Manokwari, Otawir Airfields and other Vogelkop Peninsula area targets in Dutch New Guinea.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Guam-based USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Yap Island. .

PACIFIC OCEAN: Battle of Leyte Gulf.

The Battle for Leyte Gulf continues as planes from Task Groups 38.2, 38.3 and 38.4, sailing to the east of the Philippine Islands, attack the Japanese "Center Force" (Vice Admiral KURTIA Takeo) in the Sibuyan Sea in the central Philippine Islands. TG 38.2 scout planes find Admiral KURITA's Center Force. Planes from the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise (CV-6), Intrepid (CV-11), and Franklin (CV-13), and small aircraft carrier USS Cabot (CVL-29) sink battleship HIJMS Musash about 141 nautical miles (262 kilometers) southeast of Manila, Luzon, in position 12.50N, 122.35E. Aircraft from the three task groups also damage battleships HIJMS Yamato and Nagato, heavy cruiser HIJMS Tone, and destroyers HIJMS Kiyoshimo, Fujinami and Uranami. Battleship Musashi sinks after taking multiple torpedo and bomb strikes, in the early afternoon. One cruiser is damaged and turns back. Due to the weight of these attacks, Kurita turns back. Then during the evening, he again turns east to find the US invasion forces.

     Vice Admiral NISHIMURA Shoji and Vice Admiral SHIMA Kiyohide's Sourthern Force takes only negligible damage from air strikes during the day. TG 38.4 planes attack the"Southern Force" as it proceeds through the Sulu Sea; planes from USS Franklin sink destroyer HIJMS Wakaba off the west coast of Panay about 168 nautical miles (311 kilometers) south of Manila, Luzon, in position 11.50N, 121.25E; aircraft from USS Enterprise and Franklin damage battleships HIJMS Fuso and Yamashiro.

     Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf, commander of the Bombardment and Fire Support Group, Seventh Fleet, assembles battleships from his bombardment forces to intercept NISHIMURA. These include six pre-WWII battleships, USS California (BB-44), USS Maryland (BB-46), USS Mississippi (BB-41), USS Pennsylvania (BB-38), USS Tennessee (BB-43), and USS West Virginia (BB-48), four heavy cruisers (one Australian), four light cruisers and 28 destroyers (one Australian). Five of the six battleships are at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.

     During the day, Japanese aircraft attack TG 38.3; combat air patrol and effective use of rain squalls as cover limits the damage to small carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23). Shortly before 1000 hours, a lone Japanese dive-bomber comes out of the clouds above USS Princeton and at 1,500 feet (457 meters) the pilot releases his bomb and it hits between the elevators, crashes through the flight deck and hanger, then explodes. Initial fires soon expand as further explosions send black smoke rolling off the flight deck and red flames along the sides from the island to the stern. Covering vessels provide rescue and fire-fighting assistance and shield the stricken carrier from further attack. At 1524 hours, another, much heavier explosion, possibly the bomb magazine, blew off the carrier's stern and with it the after flight deck. The light cruiser USS Birmingham (CL-62), alongside to fight fires, suffers heavy damage and casualties. The cruiser's decks literally run red with blood:

 229 men are killed, four missing, and 211 seriously wounded and 215 with minor wounds. Efforts to save Princeton continue, but at 1604 hours the fires win. Boats are requested to take off remaining personnel and shortly after 1706 hours, the destroyer USS Irwin (DD-794) begins to fire torpedoes at the burning hulk. At 1746 hours, light cruiser USS Reno (CL-96) relieves Irwin and at 1749 hours, the last, and biggest, explosion occurs. Flames and debris shot up1000-2000 feet (305-610 meters). Princeton's forward section is gone and her after section appears momentarily through the smoke. By 1750 hours she sinks about 154 nautical miles (285 kilometers) east-northeast of Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands, in position 15.21N, 123.31E, but 1,361 of her crew survive. Included in that number is Captain John M. Hoskins, who had been the prospective commanding officer of the ship and lost his right foot with her, but who, despite the loss, would become the first commanding officer of the fifth Princeton (CV-37).

     During the aerial action today, Commander David McCampbell, Commander Air Group Fifteen (CVG-15), flying from the aircraft carrier USS Essex (CV-9), again distinguishes himself in combat. With only one wingman, McCampbell attacks what is estimated as being over 60 hostile aircraft and downs nine, breaking up the attacking formation before it even reaches the fleet. For his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life" on this occasion and on 19 June, McCampbell is awarded the Medal of Honor. McCampbell later becomes the Navy’s leading ace with 34 aerial victories.

     Late today, Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., Commander Third Fleet, orders Task Force 38 (Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) to proceed north to be in position to strike the "Northern Force" (Vice Admiral OZAWA Jisaburo) on the morning of 25 October, but does not inform Commander Seventh Fleet (Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid) of his action. Unbeknown to the Americans, remnants of the "Center Force" transit San Bernadino Strait and head for Leyte Gulf. Commander Seventh Fleet meanwhile makes his dispositions to meet the expected Japanese onslaught: bombardment and support group Task Group 77.2 (Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf) is augmented by close covering group TG 77.3 (Rear Admiral Russell S. Berkey). Local airfields, however, are not yet ready to base night reconnaissance aircraft, and the only carrier equipped to operate such planes, small carrier USS Independence (CVL-22), with Night Carrier Air Group Forty One [CVLG(N)-41], is proceeding north with TF 38.

     USN hospital ship USS Comfort (AH-6), fully illuminated in accordance with the dictates of the Geneva Convention, is bombed 22 miles (41 kilometers) southeast of Leyte Island.

     USN destroyer escort USS Richard M. Rowell (DE-403) sinks Japanese submarine HIJMS I-54 about 135 nautical miles (250 kilometers) southeast of Tacloban, Leyte Island, Philippine Islands, in position 09.45N, 126.45E.

     Yesterday, the USN submarine USS Darter (SS-227) made contact with the Japanese Center Force approaching Palawan Island and a radio message is flashed to the U.S. fleet. Just after 0000 hours today, Darter ran aground on Bombay Shoal in Palawan Passage. After attempts by the submarines USS Nautilus (SS-168) and Dace (SS-247) to float the sub failed, and all confidential material and equipment is destroyed and the entire crew taken off to Dace. When the demolition charges planted in Darter failed to destroy her, Dace fired torpedoes which exploded on the reef due to the shallow water. As Dace submerged, Darter is bombed by a Japanese plane.

     Off the west coast of the Philippine Islands, coordinated submarine attack group TG 17.15 operates against Japanese shipping in South China Sea west of Luzon Strait: The target is a convoy of 17 ships sailing from Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands, to Japan. USN submarine USS Snook (SS-279) sinks two Army cargo ships; one of the ships is the merchant freighter SS Arisan Maru. This 6,886 ton ship is one of the unmarked “Hell Ships” transporting Allied POWs. In the holds are about 100 civilians and 1,782 American POWs being transported as slave laborers to work in the mines and factories of Japan. Crowded so close together they could not lie down, the holds soon became a hell-hole as the temperature soared to over 100 degrees F (38 degrees Centigrade). The lack of fresh air caused many to go mad as the holds became fouled by the stench of sweating bodies, urine and human excrement. The ship is hit by torpedoes fired by the Snook and it splits in two but the two parts remain afloat for about two hours. Most of the Japanese crew and guards are the first to escape by the few available lifeboats. Those guards left behind are set upon by the enraged POWs and killed. Only seven men survive the sinking by clinging to wreckage. Five reached the Chinese coast and two are picked up by a Japanese destroyer. Other ships sunk are: USS Icefish (SS-367) sinks an army cargo ship and USS Seadragon (SS-194) sinks a transport, a cargo ship and a merchant passenger/cargo ship. One of the attackers, USS Shark (SS-314), is sunk, probably by Japanese destroyer HIJMS Harukaze, about 155 nautical miles (288 kilometers) southwest Kao-hsiung, Formosa, in position 20.41N, 118.27E. (Skip Guidry)

0100 hours: USS Icefish (SS-367) sinks a cargo ship at 19-58 N, 118-33 E.

0200 hours: USS Snook (SS-279) sinks a cargo ship at 20-46 N, 118-18 E.

0300 hours: USS Croaker (SS-246) sinks a cargo ship at 32-56 N, 125-54 E.

0400 hours: USS Besugo (SS-321) sinks a patrol frigate at 30-19 N, 13249 E.

0500 hours: USS Snook (SS-279) sinks a cargo ship at 20-25 N, 118-44 E.

0800 hours: USS Drum (SS-228) sinks a cargo ship at 20-09 N, 118,35 E.

1100 hours: USS Seadragon (SS-194) sinks an armed cargo ship at 20-23 N, 118-47 E.

1100 hours: USS Kingfish (SS-234) sinks a cargo ship at 27-15 N, 143-19 E.

1200 hours: USS Seadragon (SS-194) sinks a transport-cargo ship at 19-34 N, 118-32 E.

1400 hours: USS Seadragon (SS-194) sinks a transport at 20-35 N, 118-32 E.

1900 hours: USS Tang (SS-306) sinks two transports, two tankers and a destroyer at 25- N, 119- E.

USS Shark (SS-314) sinks a cargo ship at 20-41 N, 118-27 E. (Skip Guidry)

Submarine USS Shark sunk by destroyer HIJMS Harukaze in the Luzon Strait. All hands lost. 11 years to the day after the keel was laid for Shark.

Submarine USS Tang sunk by her own circular-running torpedo near Turnabout Island near Taiwan. There were 9 survivors, including her captain. They became POWs.

U.S.A.: Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-404 was commissioned at San Francisco. LTJG R. S. Hall, USCGR, was her commanding officer. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific and Western Pacific areas. She was decommissioned 31 October 1945.

Minesweeper USS Peregrine laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-673 (Type VIIC) runs aground near Smaaskjär (north of Stavanger, Norway) at position 59.20N, 05.53E. following a collision with U-382, and sinks at 0115. Raised on 9 Nov 1944 and moved to Stavanger. Surrendered to Norway and broken up. (Alex Gordon)

U-958 sank SS Linnea and SS Piikiö.

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October 24th, 1945 (WEDNESDAY)

NORWAY: Vidkind Quisling is executed by firing squad at 0230, at the Akershus Festning in Oslo. Quisling was convicted of treason for his collaboration with the Germans on 10 September. Quisling had been named "Minister President" in February 1942 under Reich Commissioner Josef Terboven. (Alex Gordon & Russ Folsom)

CANADA:

Minesweeper HMCS Oshawa commissioned for transfer to Esquimalt.

Frigate HMCS Lanark paid off Sydney , Nova Scotia.

Minesweeper HMCS Miramichi paid off Esquimalt, British Columbia.

U.S.A.: New York: The United Nations is formally established with the ratification of the United Nations Charter by the five permanent members of the Security Council and a majority of other signatories. The first U.N. General Assembly, with 51 nations represented, opened in London, England, on 10 January 10. (Gene Hanson & Jack McKillop)

Maj. Gen. Edward F. Witsell, writes to a relative of an American GI who died in the Berga concentration camp, "With respect to your desire to ascertain the location of Berga Elster, it has been learned that there was no German prisoner-of-war camp by that name."  Berga Elster was indeed, not a prisoner-of-war camp, but a semi-permanent concentration camp, 40 miles from Leipzig, where Jews and other undesirables to the Nazi regime were sent to be worked to death or Vernichtung durch Arbeit. Those G.I.s included Private William J. Shapiro of the US 28th Infantry Division. Of the 350 young G.I.' sent there ate least 73 or 21% died in the space of ten weeks. The highest rate of attrition among American prisoners of war in Europe. (Personal recollection of William J. Shapiro and Mordecai Hauer, The Lost Soldiers of Stalag IX-B, by Roger Cohen, New York Times, 27 February, 2005)

Battleship USS PENNSYLVANIA limps into Puget Sound on one shaft. (Randall Steigner)

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