28 October 1939

1933 (SATURDAY)

UNITED STATES: The USN signs a contract with Consolidated Aircraft for the Consolidated Model 28 flying boat designated XP3Y-1; it is later redesignated XPBY-1.

1935 (MONDAY)

JAPAN: The Japanese Foreign Minister, Koki Hirota, announces his Three Point Policy: the establishment of a Japan-China-Manchukuo bloc; the suppression of anti-Japanese activities in China; and the organization of a joint Japanese-Chinese front against Communism. The failure of this policy leads to future Japanese aggression against the Chinese.

1937 (THURSDAY)

SPAIN: The Spanish Republican government moves from Valencia to Barcelona to a more secure base of operations.

1938 (FRIDAY)

GERMANY: Some 15,000 "stateless" Jews are forced to leave their homes throughout Germany and to go, with only one suitcase, to the nearest railway station. They are then taken through the night to the German-Polish border and forced across at gun point. Thousands of Polish Jews are arrested and rushed over the Polish border in retaliation for the Polish exclusion law.

October 28th, 1939 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: A He-111 was brought down today by RAF Spitfires east of Dalkeith in south-eastern Scotland - the first German aircraft, of this war, to be shot down over the British Isles. Two of its four man crew survived.

Patrol vessel HMS Guillemont commissioned.

AMC HMS Queen of Bermuda commissioned.

U.S. freighter SS Black Tern, detained at Weymouth, England, by British authorities since 11 October, is released.

FRANCE: The BEF is reported to have enough food to feed its nearly 200,000 troops for 46 days.

GERMANY: Berlin: Heinrich Himmler, Reichsfuhrer-SS and Head of the German Police, issues his "Lebensborn" decree, urging single German women to dispense with the "bourgeois custom" of marriage to bear racially pure children. The child is then given to the SS organization which took in charge his "education" and adoption. One of the most horrible sides of the Leben sides of the Leben sides of the Lebensborn policy is the kidnaping of children in the eastern occupied countries. These kidnaping are organized by the SS in order to take by force children who matched the Nazi's racial criteria (blond hair, blue eyes, etc....). In 1946, it is estimated that more than 250,000 are kidnaped and sent by force to Germany but only 25,000 are retrieved after the war and sent back to their families.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Prague: Six months ago, the German Army marched into Prague on the pretext of "restoring order." Today, students in Prague feel the full ferocity of German occupation, the 20th anniversary of their country's birth. Students parading through the city are charged by armoured cars and prisoners are reported to have been tortured by the Gestapo. Street fighting breaks out later in the city centre with Sudeten Germans using pistols, whips and rifle butts against Czech patriots. One student is reported to have been killed by revolver shots, and more than 3,500 people are packing the city prisons. One of the demonstrators shot is Jan Opletal, a medical student. He dies on 11 November and is buried on 15 November. The funeral turns into another anti-Nazi demonstration; as a result, Reichsprotektor Konstantin von Neurath closes all Czech universities and colleges, over 1,000 students are sent into concentration camps, and nine students are executed on 17 November..

Bratislava: Joseph Tiso becomes the first president of Slovakia.

POLAND: Starting with the town of Piotrkow, German authorities begin confining the Jews of Poland to a particular area (ghetto) of each city or town in which they live. Sometimes this area is the already prominently Jewish quarter, butJewish quarter, but often it is a poor or neglected part of the town, away from the center. Jews from the rest of the town are then forced to leave their homes, and to move into this, often much smaller area, in which even the basic amenities are unavailable. In each of these ghetto areas, food and medical supplies are restricted. Intense overcrowding, hunger and disease lead to widespread suffering and death. (Atlas)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-59 sank SS Lynx II and SS St Nidan.

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee makes a rendezvous with the tanker Altmark near Tristan de Cunha, the remote British island group in the South Atlantic located about 1,508 nautical miles (2 793 kilometers) west-southwest of Cape Town, South Africa. The warship refuels from the auxiliary, and transfers British freighter SS Trevanion's crew to her. SS Trevanion had been sunk on 22 October.

28 October 1940

October 28th, 1940 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Battle of Britain:

The weather is misty in northern France with fog over the Thames Estuary and Straits clearing later. During the morning Luftwaffe aircraft are active on a small scale over East Anglia. In the afternoon Kent and East Sussex are the areas affected and in the evening a large scale attack is attempted on London which fails, but bombs are dropped in Surrey and Kent. Night activity commences at about 1840 hours and is widespread during the early part of the night with Birmingham and London appearing to be the main objectives. In Birmingham, the city again receives a fierce attack and there are altogether 230 incidents reported about 32 of which involve damage by high explosive bombs, the remainder being fires caused by incendiary bombs including several oil bombs. The most serious fire is New Street Railroad Station and the whole station is enveloped in flames. From midnight onwards the concentration is on the London suburbs and South East England. During the day, RAF Fighter Command claims 4-7-8 aircraft and antiaircraft batteries claim 0-0-1 aircraft. During the night, the RAF claims 1-0-0 aircraft. The RAF does not lose any aircraft.

RAF Fighter Command: Losses: Luftwaffe, 11; RAF, 2.

A new type of bomb made of brass 2.75 inches (7,0 centimeters) long and 2 inches (5,1 centimeters) in diameter is dropped by aircraft on the night of 28/29 October.

VICHY FRANCE: Pierre Laval is appointed Foreign Minister. Regarding the Italian invasion of Greece, the first Italian Communiqué reads: "At dawn on the 28th October our forces stationed in Albania crossed over the Greek border and gained entrance at several places. Our advance continues." (Steven Statharos)

ITALY: Hitler meets with Mussolini in Florence. Commenting on his recent meeting with Generalissimo Franco he says he would prefer to have three or four teeth extracted rather than meet with him again. (Marc James Small)

GREECE: Athens: At 5:30 AM Mussolini's army invaded Greece. In the firm belief that they would meet little resistance from the dictator General Metaxas's forces, Italian tanks and infantry crossed from occupied Albania into the mountains of Epirus before dawn. Hitler heard the news on his train 'Amerika' between Munich and Florence. When the arrived, the Italian leader was delighted to tell him, in German: "Fuhrer, we are on the march!" Hitler conceals his fury at news of the Italian invasion of Greece and pledges military support if Mussolini requires it.

In Hitler's opinion Mussolini is making a critical strategic blunder. To Hitler the capture of Gibraltar, with assistance from Franco and Italy's conquest of Egypt, especially the great naval base at Alexandria, would ensure Britain's collapse.

Mussolini in turn was convinced that the pro-German Metaxas - who has based his Asfalia secret police on the Gestapo and abolished most democratic institutions in Greece - would succumb quickly offering little resistance.

Metaxas, however, has rejected the Italian ultimatum - which he received in his bed from an Italian envoy at six in the morning - half an hour after Italian troops crossed the border.
The first Greek communiqué reads: As of 5:30 am today, the Italian armed forces are attacking our troops protecting the Greek Albanian border. Our forces are defending our native territory.

The first Italian Communiqué reads: "At dawn on the 28th October our forces stationed in Albania crossed over the Greek border and gained entrance at several places. Our advance continues" (Steven Statharos)

General Visconti-Prasca, the Commander-in-Chief of the Italian aerial forces has not blocked the road to the north, thus allowing three newly-mobilised Greek divisions to move quickly to the front. The Italians are moving slowly, and the Greeks are mobilising quickly.

After only two weeks preparation, Italian generals are outraged at dictator Benito Mussolini's hasty plan.

Approximately 60,000 weathered Italian troops are pulled out of Albania to assist in the fall harvest in Italy. The majority of Italians who conduct this invasion are recruits. Seven divisions of the 9th and 11th Armies are used in the attack under General Visconti-Prasca. To make matters worse, Mussolini never authorizes the use of the Navy or the Air Force to assist in this attack. This invasion coincides with the Greek rainy season when the weather drops below freezing and many Italian soldiers do not possess winter boots. From the onset it is apparent that the Greeks intend to fight. The Italians advance in a four pronged attack up to 25 miles (40 kilometers) into Greek territory. In every turn there seems to be an ambush or a destroyed bridge.

EGYPT: Cairo: Air Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore Air Officer C-in-C, Air HQ Middle East (an Australian) orders 3 squadrons of Blenheims and one of Gladiators to Greece.

Wavell is ordered to send also two A.A. batteries to Athens and an infantry brigade to Suda Bay, in Crete, to assist in the defence of the Greek islands.

SUDAN: Khartoum: The British Secretary of State for War, Anthony Eden, the C-in-C, General Sir Archibald Wavell, the South African Premier, General Jan Smuts and the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie meet to try to reconcile their different war aims in Africa.

CANADA: Convoy HX-84 sailed from Halifax.

Corvette HMCS Nanaimo launched Esquimalt, British Columbia.

UNITED STATES: The USN Chief of Naval Operations reports that aircraft with some form of armor and fuel protection are just beginning to go into service use, and that within a year all fleet aircraft, except those assigned Patrol Wing 2 in the Territory of Hawaii, would have such protection.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The 42,350 ton British troopship HMT Empress of Britain, a former Canadian Pacific passenger ship of the same name, is attacked by a Luftwaffe Fw 200C-1 Kondor on 26 October about 181 nautical miles (336 kilometers) northwest of Galway, County Galway, Éire, (q.v.). The ship is set on fire and abandoned and then taken under tow by the Polish destroyer ORP Burza (H 37) and the two rescue tugs HMS Marauder (W 98) and Thames and headed for the U.K. Today, the German submarine U-32 sights her off the southwest coast of 'ire and sinks her with two torpedoes about 63 nautical miles (117 kilometers) southwest of Cork, County Cork, 'ire, in position 51.16N, 09.50W. This is the largest passenger liner/transport sunk in World War II. U-32 was sunk 30 October 1940 northwest of Ireland, in position 55.37N, 12.19W, by depth charges from the Royal Navy destroyers HMS Harvester and HMS Highlander. 33 of the 42 U-boat crewmen survived.

The Reuters News Agency in London reported:-

The Admiralty has announced that the English steamship Empress of Britain has gone down. The vessel was attacked by enemy aircraft and caught fire so that it had to be evacuated. Salvage manoeuvres were instituted at once, but when the steamer was taken in tow, it reared up and sank. Of a total 643 persons on board, 598 survivors were brought to land by British war vessels. They included the families of military men and a small number of military personnel. The energetic and effective action of the steamer's anti-aircraft defence was largely responsible for the fact that so many people were saved.

The vessel was a 42,000 ton luxury steamer. The King and Queen sailed home on her last year from their trip to Canada and the United States.

Luftwaffe Front-Line Bulletin No. 26

On 26 October 1940, a FW-200 on armed reconnaissance and weather-scouting patrol over North-West Ireland sighted a large vessel with 3 smokestacks. Despite powerful Anti-Aircraft fire which inflicted serious hits on the attacking aircraft, the German plane made 2 hits on the ship in a total of 4 low-level attacks. As the plane was flying away, the ship showed a slight list and was burning along its whole length. The assaulted ship burned for 24 hours and the following day its wreck was sunk by a U-boat. The vessel in question was the passenger steamer Empress of Britain, which at 42,000 tons was the tenth largest ship in the international merchant fleet.

28 October 1941

October 28th, 1941 (TUESDAY)

GERMANY:

U-341, U-527 laid down.

U-256 launched.

U.S.S.R.: General Winter begins to assist the Soviet defence of Moscow. The German attacks suffer their own weakness, but the soft muddy ground and severe frosts at night damage machinery and weaken the soldiers further. They are not equipped with proper clothing for fighting in these conditions. Guderian's forces near Tula make the major effort during this time. These movements make little headway. Volokolamsk further north falls to the Germans.

LITHUANIA: Kovno: By order of the Nazis, the entire population of the ghetto, some 27,000 Jews, assembled in the main square at daybreak this morning. The SS commander, Rauca, stood on a hillock, his dog by his feet. Eating sandwiches and drinking coffee, he pointed the way for each one with his finger. He sent the younger and healthier people to the left. Young chidren, the old and the sick went to the right. To the left meant life, albeit in slavery; to the right, death. It is thought that some 10,000 Jews were thus condemned to die.

ITALY: Rome: Mussolini declares that the "coalition of Bolshevism and its European and American Allies" will be destroyed.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Submarine HMS/M Tetrarch (N 77) is listed lost, probably due to mining either in the Sicilian Channel or Cavioli. There are no Axis claims for her sinking.

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Westmount laid down Toronto, Ontario.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "How Green Was My Valley" premieres at the Rivoli Theater in New York City. Directed by John Ford, this drama about Welsh coal miners, based on the Richard Llewellyn novel, stars Walter Pidegeon, Maureen O'Hara, Donald Crisp, Roddy McDowall, Barry Fitzgerald, Patric Knowles and Arthur Shields. The film is nominated for ten Academy Awards and is awarded five: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Crisp); Best Director (Ford) and Best Picture. Although nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Allgood loses to Mary Astor in "The Great Lie."

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the appropriation bill passed by Congress for an additional US$6 billion (US$77 billion in 2004 dollars) in Lend-Lease aid to U.K. and the U.S.S.R. .

ATLANTIC OCEAN:

U-106 sank SS King Malcolm in Convoy SC-50.

U-432 sank SS Ulea in Convoy HG-75.

U-68 sank SS Hazelside.

28 October 1942

October 28th, 1942 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Destroyer HMS Rocket launched.

FRANCE: During the night of 28/29 October, three RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines off St. Nazaire; one aircraft is lost.

GERMANY:

U-531 commissioned.

U-953, U-954 laid down.

U-243, U-346, U-478, U-1221 laid down.

NORWAY: U-586 made a ground reconnaissance of Jan Mayen Island in Mary Mass Bay.

During the night of 28/29 October, two RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines off Stavanger without loss.

FINLAND: Shtsh-304 and Shtsh-306 are mined in Gulf of Finland.

GREECE: US Army, Middle East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses, dispatched to attack a convoy at sea, fail to locate the target but attack cruisers in Pylos Bay.

GIBRALTAR: The British carrier HMS FURIOUS sails with Spitfires for Malta.

ALGERIA: Robert Murphy, US Consul in Northwest Africa, tells French General Mast that the invasion will occur in November. Mast insists that he does not have enough time to organize the Allied sympathizers and to arrange for Giraud to be accepted.

EGYPT: After probing British positions in the Kidney Ridge area, Axis forces begin forming for an attack but are forced by Allied aircraft to abandon it. During the night of 28/29 October, the Australian 9th Division of XXX Corps, British Eighth Army, begins a northward attack toward the sea in an effort to eliminate German's coastal salient and secure the coastal road and railroad. A narrow wedge is driven almost to the road despite stubborn opposition from Thompson's Post, a key point in the German’s coastal positions.

US Army, Middle East Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack tanks, motor transports, and landing grounds; P-40s fly medium and light bomber escort, bomb and strafe landing grounds and other targets, and engage aircraft in combat, mostly in the area between El Alamein and El Daba, claiming three Bf 109s destroyed.

NEW GUINEA: Along the Kokoda Track the Japanese are finally forced off the high ground at Eora Creek. (William L. Howard)

In Papua New Guinea, the 2d Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, U.S. 32d Infantry Division, and a portable hospital begin the difficult march from Jaure toward Natunga and Bofu, preceded by two companies, which are to secure dropping grounds.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: GUADALCANAL: Japanese reinforcements, nicknamed the "Tokyo Express" by the Americans, start landing on the north-west coast. They meet stiff resistance.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, USAAF Fifth Air Force): B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb shipping in the harbor at Rabaul while B-25 Mitchells hit the airfield at Gasmata.

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Six USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberators turn back from an attempted attack on the Japanese-held Kiska Island submarine base because of adverse weather; a B-17 Flying Fortress bombs Attu Island with unobserved results and flies weather reconnaissance over Kiska, Amchitka, and Tanaga Islands.

CANADA: At Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory, Canadian Health Minister, Ian Mackenzie, and the U.S. Secretary of Alaska, Edward L. Bartlett, cut a ribbon to open the Alcan Military Highway, today known as the Alaska Highway. The 2 575 kilometer (1,600 mile) road, from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, to Fairbanks Alaska, is built to move supplies and munitions rapidly north in case of Japanese invasion.

U.S.A.: After completing Officer Candidate School, Clark Gable is commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Army Air Forces.

Procurement of the expendable radio sonobuoy for use in antisubmarine warfare is initiated as the Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Fleet, Admiral Ernest J. King, directs the Bureau of Ships to procure 1,000 sonobuoys and 100 associated receivers.

Minesweeper USS Spear laid down.

Destroyer USS Erben laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-627 (Type VIIC) which had left Kiel for its first combat patrol on 15 Oct is sunk 12 days later south of Iceland, at position 59.14N 22.49W by depth charges from a British Fortress aircraft (Sqn 206/F). 44 dead (all crew lost).

U-509 sank SS Nagpore and damaged SS Hopecastle in Convoy SL-125.

U-606 sank SS Gurney E Newlin and damaged SS Kosmos II in Convoy HX-212.

SS Bic Island, 4,000 GRT, Canadian merchant ship, formerly the Italian CAPO NOLI, captured on 10 Jun 40 by HMCS Bras D'Or, was sunk in the North Atlantic by U-624, KptLt Ulrich Graf Von Soden-Fraunhofen, CO. All of her crewmembers plus the survivors of 2 other sunken merchant-ships were lost. Bic Island was part of HX 212, a 43-ship convoy from New York City to Liverpool. She is not listed among the 5 other ships that were lost, which means that she was likely a 'straggler'. The materiel lost from the 5 ships that were sunk while in convoy amounted to 21,000 tons of crude oil, 20,300 tons of fuel oil, 12,000 tons of petrol, and 8,200 tons of grain, plus the cargo from Bic Island. 243 merchant sailors were lost from the 5 sunken merchant ships. The size of Bic Island's crew is not known. The convoy eventually reached the UK on 02 Nov 42. The convoy was escorted by the American Escort Group A 3, Commanded by Capt Paul Heineman USN. The ships included the US Coast Guard cutters Badger and Campbell, Corvettes HMS Dainthus, HMCS Rosthern Trillium. 3 assigned for passage and for further duties in Operation TORCH were also included - HMCS Alberni, Summerside and Ville de Quebec.

28 October 1943

October 28th, 1943 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: An RAF Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (PRU) aircraft today brought back a photograph of a German V1 "flying bomb" launch site at Abbeville, in northern France. Although the British have reasonable knowledge of the V2 rocket, it is only in the last two months that they have become aware that the Germans have been working on the V1.

This photographic sortie was mounted as a result of a report by a local French agent and confirms that the Germans are constructing launch sites in northern France for a V1 offensive against England.

This illustrates only too clearly the value of photographic reconnaissance as an intelligence gathering asset. The RAF PRU itself was formed at Heston by Wing-Commander Sidney Cotton in April 1940. Cotton had been a civilian pilot before the war and worked for a company developing colour photography. Together with Group Captain Frederick Winterbotham of the Secret Intelligence Service he had pioneered cover PR over Germany in the months leading up to the outbreak of war.

The PRU is under the control of RAF Coastal Command although it works for the admiralty, the war office and other agencies as well. It is equipped with specially-adapted Spitfires - the Mark IV-PR, powered by 1,440hp Merlin 45 engines and carrying more fuel than the normal fighter versions. Its surfaces have been polished to improve its aerodynamic performance. It has a range of 1,700 miles and, unarmed, relies on stealth to fulfil its mission. It uses a 20-inch lens camera.

The RAF Photographic Interpretation Unit at Wembley in north-west London then uses stereoscopic viewing instruments for significant intelligence breakthroughs.

Corvette HMS Arabis launched.

U.S.S.R.: Black Sea Fleet and Azov Flotilla: Submarine loss."A-3" - by surface ASW ships at Karkinitski Gulf
Black Sea Fleet and Azov Flotilla:HS "Orel" - mined on Anapa stead (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army's British X Corps area, the 46th and 7th Armoured

Divisions begin an attack on Mt. Massico and Mt. St. Croce. In the U.S. VI Corps area, the 168th Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division finds that the Germans has abandoned the hill south of Ailano.

In the British Eighth Army area, heavy rainfall forces General Bernard Montgomery commander of the Eighth Army, to postpone a planned attack by XIII Corps along the axis Vinchiaturo-Isernia. V Corps continues unsuccessful efforts to expand the Trigno bridgehead in the coastal sector.

Weather prevents most USAAF Twelfth Air Force operations planned for the day. No missions are flown by the XII Bomber Command but XII Air Support Command A-36 Apaches hit several highways and bridges in advance of the the battleline and attack gun positions in the Vairano area and transportation targets in the Rome area.

CHINA: Seven USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Mangshih; six P-40s strafe a warehouse and revetments at Yoyang Airfield; and three B-25 Mitchells and seven P-38 Lightnings hit a barracks at Ft Bayard.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts strafe the area from Sio to Fortification Point.

NEW ZEALAND: Butter rationing is introduced in the country.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The US 2nd Marine Parachute Btn is landed by sea on Choiseul Island (Treasury Islands) at Voza. Operation Blissful is intended to be a diversion for the landings on Bougainville, further north in the Solomons. There are several short, sharp actions before they are withdrawn in a few days.

USAAF Thirteenth Air Force P-40s and P-39 Airacobras join 19 TBF Avengers, 38 SBD Dauntlesses and 46 fighters in attacks on Kara Airfield on Bougainville Island and 21 TBFs, 38 SBDs and 32 fighters hit Ballale Airfield on Ballale Island. Kara airfield is also bombed by 19 B-24 Liberators.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, USAAF Fifth Air Force P-40s hit Gasmata Airfield while P-47 Thunderbolts attack barges at Talasea (Cape Hoskins) and strafe surrounding area.

PACIFIC OCEAN: In the South China Sea, two USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells on a shipping sweep damage two freighters near Saint John Island and sink a junk west of Kwangchow Wan.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Jonquiere launched Quebec City, Province of Quebec.

U.S.A.: The Army Air Forces (AAF) School of Applied Tactics at Orlando AAB, Orlando, Florida, is redesignated the AAF Tactical Center.

Submarine USS Veto laid down.

Destroyer USS Maddox laid down.

Minesweeper USS Rebel launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-220 (Type XB) is sunk in the North Atlantic at position 48.53N, 33.30W by depth charges from two Avenger aircraft of the US escort carrier USS Block Island. 54 dead. (Alex Gordon)

U-712 accidentally struck the seabed and sustained some damage.

28 October 1944

October 28th, 1944 (SATURDAY)

NORTH SEA: U-1060 (Type VIIF) Not a combat vessel but a torpedo transport (operating mainly to the Norwegian bases) is sunk in the North Sea south of Bronnøysund, at position 65.24N, 12.00E by rockets and depth charges from aircraft of the British carrier HMS Implacable, a British Halifax T aircraft (Sqn 502) and from a Czechoslovakian Liberator aircraft (Sqn 311/H). 12 dead, 43 survivors.

WESTERN EUROPE: Forty six USAAF Ninth Air Force B--26 Marauders bomb rail bridges at Sinzig, Kempenich, and Ahrweiler, and airfield at Euskirchen, Germany; fighters escort the bombers, fly sweeps and armed reconnaissance over western Germany, attack six bridges and a tunnel, and support US XIX Corps in Belgium near the German border.

FRANCE: Near St. Die, Staff Sergeant Lucian Adams, U.S. Army, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division, braves the concentrated fire of German machine guns in a lone assault armed with a borrowed BAR, he kills 9 Germans, eliminates three machine gun nests and clears woods of the enemy. (MOH) (Drew Philip Halevy)

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, issues a directive for a November offensive, calling for the destruction of the Germans west of the Rhine, establishment of bridgeheads across the river, and a drive into Germany.

In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, one company of the 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division, makes a diversionary attack north of Hôtel de Ville in Maizières-lès-Metz, while three companies enter the factory area in preparation for an attack.

The U.S. Sixth Army Group issues a letter of instruction for the reduction of Germans west of the Rhine and the capture of Strasbourg. In the U.S. Seventh Army's XV Corps area, the Germans make a limited withdrawal, during the night of 28/29 October, pulling back to the line Leintrey-Blemerey.

During the night of 28/29 October, the USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 692: three B-17 Flying Fortresses and six B-24 Liberators drop leaflets over the country.

BELGIUM: A German V-1 "buzz bomb" lands in Antwerp killing 71 persons and destroying 40 homes. Antwerp suffered the most from the V-1 and V-2 missiles.

NETHERLANDS: West of Venlo, the Allies counterattack and regain ground captured by German Parachute troops.

In the Canadian First Army's British I Corps area, the U.S. 104th Infantry Division takes Rijsbergen, about halfway between Zundert and Breda, and pushes toward the Roosendaal-Breda highway.

In the British Second Army's XII Corps area, Tilburg falls to Dempsey's 15th Division. In the VIII Corps area, the U.S. 7th Armored Division begins a two-pronged attack to recover Meijel, Combat Command B driving southeast along the Deurn-Meijel highway and Combat Command R task force moving along the Asten-Meijel road. Small gains are made against severe opposition.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 277 aircraft, 155 Halifaxes, 86 Lancasters and 36 Mosquitos, to carry out raids on gun positions at five places on the rim of the newly flooded island of Walcheren: 71 hit Westkapelle, 68 bomb Domberg, 49 attack Flushing, 38 hit Oostkapelle and 35 bomb Dishoek. Most of the bombing appears to be successful. A Halifax and a Lancaster are lost.

GERMANY: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 691: 382 B-17 Flying Fortresses and 217 fighters are dispatched on PFF attacks on marshalling yards (M/Ys) in Germany; three bombers and two fighters are lost. The targets are the Hamm M/Y hit by 185 B-17s and the M/Y at Munster bombed by 177 B-17s. One B-17 hits a target of opportunity.

Nineteen USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17s bomb the marshalling yard at Munich.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 733 aircraft to bomb Cologne; 623 bomb the city with the loss of six aircraft. The bombing took place in two separate waves and the local report confirms that enormous damage is caused. The districts of Mülheim and Zollstock, northeast and southwest of the centre respectively, become the centre of the two raids and are both devastated. Much damage is caused to power stations, railways and harbour installations on the Rhine.

During the night of 28/29 October, 30 RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb a chemical plant in Cologne, four hit Karlsruhe and three attack Rheine.

U-2345 launched.

U-2540 and U-4702 laid down.

EAST PRUSSIA: The Soviet advance into the Goldap area is brought to a standstill by the tenacious resistance of 4.Armee.

AUSTRIA: Bad weather again limits operations by the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force: 11 B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb two targets: ten B-17s hit an aircraft factory at Klagenfurt and one bombs Erlasback.

NORWAY: During the night of 28/29 October, RAF Bomber Command sends 237 Lancasters and seven Mosquitos to attack the U-boat pens at Bergen. Clear conditions are forecast for the target area, although there are some doubts about this. Unfortunately the area is found to be cloud-covered. The Master Bomber tries to bring the force down below 5,000 feet (1 524 meters) but clouds are still encountered and he orders the raid to be abandoned after only 51 Lancasters have bombed. Three Lancasters are lost. Meanwhile, ten Lancasters lay mines off Oslo without loss.

BULGARIA: The government signs an armistice with the Allies. By its terms, Bulgaria will relinquish portions of Greece and Yugoslavia acquired in 1941, make certain

reparations yet to be determined, and place their armed forces at the disposal of the Soviet high command.

U.S.S.R.: MOSCOW: The USSR-Bulgaria armistice is signed. Bulgarian troops will now operate under Soviet command. Text

YUGOSLAVIA: The partisans announce the capture of Split, capital of Dalmatia and Adriatic port, to Partisan forces.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army's IV Corps area, Regimental Combat Team 6 of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force outflanks Gallicano, in the Serchio Valley. The II Corps, now greatly understrength after six weeks of hard fighting, is ordered in writing to halt offensive and establish defensive positions.

In the British Eighth Army’s V Corps area, the Indian 10th Division crosses more elements over the Ronco River during the night of 28/29 October and begins an attack from the bridgehead south of Meldola.

Bad weather again grounds USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers, and restricts the XXII Tactical Air Command; fighter-bombers and fighters, flying 65 sorties, attack vehicles and trains in the Turin-Milan-Genoa area.

CHINA: USAAF Fourteenth Air Force fighters strafe villages, troops, and horses in the Menghsu-Konghow area, pound bridges around Kaotienhsu, and hit Yangtong Airfield and Wuchou.

BURMA: Chinese forces capture Myothit.

In the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) area, the Chinese 38th Division encounters patrols from Japanese outpost line along the Taping River near Bhamo but routs them in order to reach the river at Myothit. Two regiments are to make wide enveloping maneuver in order to turn the Japanese line.

Over 80 USAAF Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers attack numerous targets including town areas, troops, railroad facilities, and a variety of targets of opportunity at Mannaun, Manoi, Sinkan, Winwa, Man Mao, Myazedi, Pinwe, Naba, Yebawgyi, and Kangon.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: USAAF Fourteenth Air Force fighters strafe shipping at Hongay.

THAILAND: A Japanese transport is sunk and another heavily damaged by two human torpedoes (Mk.II "Terry Chariots"), LXXIX and LXXX, launched from the British submarine HMS/M Trenchant (P 331), in Phuket Harbor. The two Chariots are scuttled.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Admirals Davison and Bogan relieve Admiral Sherman with their task groups of US TF 38 in air ops over Luzon. Today and tomorrow they will destroy almost 100 Japanese aircraft for a loss of 15 US aircraft. The carrier USS Intrepid is hit during a Kamikaze attack.
Near Dagami, Leyte, Philippine Islands the US attacks make slow progress with heavy losses. On the north end of Leyte, the US 1st Cavalry Division is held up by fierce Japanese resistance near Carigara.

In the X Corps area on Leyte, the 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division drives through Alangalang to the Mainit River and dislodges the Japanese from steel bridges spanning it. The 19th Infantry Regiment, blocks a road north of the Binahaan River near Macalpe and establishes a perimeter at Tingib. The 2d Cavalry Brigade is ordered to advance on Carigara; the 8th Cavalry Regiment is to establish a base at San Miguel, secure Cavite, and patrol as far north and northwest as Barugo road; the 7th Cavalry Regiment, while holding positions at Santa Cruz and Babatngon, is to concentrate in the Barugo-Carigara area and patrol south and southeast. A troop of the 7th Cavalry Regiment moves by water from Babatngon to Barugo and overland to Carigara, where a prolonged fire fight ensues and withdraws to Barugo late in the afternoon. In the XXIV Corps area, the 382d Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division, finishes clearing Tabontabon and continues toward Kiling. The 381st Infantry Regiment begins an attack on the eastern slopes of Catmon Hill at 1200 hours. A battalion gets almost to Labir Hill, but another battalion receives such accurate fire at the foot of the hill that it pulls back to the vicinity of the line of departure. The 17th Infantry Regiment makes slow progress toward Dagami with the lead battalion suffering heavy casualties.

USAAF Far East Air Forces (FEAF) B-24 Liberators, fighting bad weather, bomb Puerto Princesa Airfield on Palawan Island.

EAST INDIES: USAAF Far East Air Forces (FEAF) B-25 Mitchells and P-38 Lightnings attack town of Amboina on Ceram Island.. During the night of 28/29 October, B-24 Liberators bomb the Wilhelmina Docks area on Celebes Island.

BONIN ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Saipan Island bomb Haha Jima.

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

Fourteen B-29 Superfortresses of the USAAF Twentieth Air Force’s XXI Bomber Command based in the Mariana Islands fly their first combat mission, actually an operational training exercise, against submarine pens on Dublon Island, Truk Atoll; four others, one carrying Brigadier General Haywood S Hansell, Jr, Commanding General XXI Bomber Command, abort; about a third of the bombs fall in the general target area.

PACIFIC OCEAN: Task Group 38.4 (Rear Admiral Ralph E. Davison) bombs Japanese shipping near Cebu, damaging a landing ship off Ormoc, Leyte.

USN destroyer USS Helm (DD-388), assisted by destroyer USS Gridley (DD-380) and a TBM Avenger of Torpedo Squadron Twenty One (VT-21) in the small aircraft carrier USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24), sinks Japanese submarine I-46, about 129 nautical miles (239 kilometers) east of Tacloban, Leyte, Philippine Islands, in position 10.56N, 127.13E.

USN destroyer escort USS Eversole (DE-404) is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine HIJMS I-45 about 162 nautical miles (300 kilometers) east-southeast of Tacloban, Leyte, Philippine Islands, in position 10.18N, 127.37E. Eversole is ordered abandoned, and after the men are all in the water, the submarine sand opened fire, then

dived once more. Five minutes later, there is a tremendous underwater explosion which killed or wounded all of the sailors in the water. Two other escorts rescue 139 wounded survivors. HIJMSI-45 is in turn sunk by destroyer escort USS Whitehurst (DE-634) about 157 nautical miles (290 kilometers) east-southeast of Tacloban in position 10.10N, 127.28E.

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Fort Frances commissioned.

U.S.A.: The top songs on the popular record charts today are: "I'll Walk Alone" by Dinah Shore; "Dance with the Dolly" by The Russ Morgan Orchestra (vocal: Al Jennings); "The Trolley Song" by Judy Garland; and "Smoke on the Water" by Red Foley.

Destroyer minelayers USS Aaron Ward and J William Ditter commissioned.

Frigate USS Abilene commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-1226 (Type IXC/40) is lost in the Atlantic, possibly because of a Schnorkel defect. Position not known. 56 dead (all hands lost). (Alex Gordon)

U-242 sank SS Rigel.

28 October 1945

October 28th, 1945 (SUNDAY)

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: 60% of the countries' industry has now been nationalized.

CANADA: Minesweepers HMCS Sarnia and Kentville paid off Sydney , Nova Scotia and laid up Shelburne , Nova Scotia.

U.S.A.: PoW camp at Minidoka, Idaho, is closed. The inmates will now be repatriated to Germany.

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