Aegean

British forces occupy Leros and Samos.

Air Operations, CBI

• 8 11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s, escorted by 12 23rd Fighter Group P-40s, attack a Japanese Army headquarters, barracks, warehouses, and ammunition dumps at Liujenpa.

Air Operations, Europe

• 340 aircraft of Nos. 3, 4, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to attack the important railway yards at Modane on the main railway route between France and Italy. In this total are 170 Halifaxes, 127 Stirlings, 43 Lancasters and 5 American B-17s.
• The target is situated in a steep valley and the marking is not accurate. As a result, neither is the bombing. There are no reports from the ground on damage.
• 2 Halifaxes and 1 Stirling are lost.
• 12 Lancasters, 8 from 617 Squadron and 4 from 619 Squadron, attempt to bomb the railway viaduct at Anthéor Cannes on the coastal railway line leading to Italy, but no direct hits are scored.
• 1 Lancaster of 619 Squadron is was lost when it comes down in the sea off Portugal, possibly while trying to reach Gibraltar.

• 5 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin and there are 3 OTU sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-17s, B-24s, B-25s, B-26s, and A-20s attack Japanese defensive positions at Lae. B-24s mount a light attack against Sorong.
• A 35th Fighter Group P-38 downs 1 Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance plane near Hansa Bay at 1030 hours.

Air Operations, Solomons

• AirSols SBDs attack the airfield at Ballale Airdrome.
• VF-33 and VF-38 F6Fs down 6 A6M Zeros between Ballale and the Shortland Islands between 1415 and 1500 hours. VMF-214 F4Us down 11 Zeros over Ballale at 1500 hours. A 70th Fighter Squadron P-39 downs an E13A 'Jake' reconnaissance plane near Vella Lavella at 1605 hours.

Eastern Front

Southwest of Bryansk the Soviets take Novgorod Seversky and Romny, north and south of Konotop respectively, on the flanks of their advance toward Kiev. The Germans announce the evacuation of Bryansk.

Lozovaya, a railroad junction northeast of Pavlograd, is taken and Novorossiysk, in the Kuban falls to Petrov's troops after a terrible struggle. A large part of the German 17th Army has already managed to reach the Crimea across the Kerch Strait. This is the end of the Germans' venture into the Caucasus.

Yartsevo falls to the 31st Army after a bloody battle. The 10th Army crosses the Desna and approaches Roslavl while Novgorod Seversky falls to the 60th Army after a long battle.

Lozovaya falls to Soviet 6th Army while Romny falls to the Voronezh Front. In the Kuban, Novorossiysk falls to the 18th Army after a fierce battle.

Italy

Von Vietinghoff orders another attack on the British between Salerno and Battipaglia but it is driven off. By midday Kesselring has authorized a withdrawal to the Volturno line along the Garigliano and Sangro Rivers. In the afternoon the battleship Warspite, which has been providing gunnery support, is hit by 2 glider bombs and seriously damaged.

Forward units of 5th and 8th Armies join up near Vallo di Lucania but the bulk of 8th Army is well behind and busy transferring to the east side of the peninusula. The battle for Salerno is over but it has been a very close thing.

New Guinea

Lae is taken by the converging attacks of Australian 9th and 7th Divs. Many of the Japanese garrison, some 7,500 men plus the remnants of the garrison of Salamaua decimated in earlier fighting, are able to slip away into the jungle, and head for the north coast of the Huon Peninsula. It takes them a whole month before they reach Sio, on the north coast of the island opposite New Britain. In a major air attack on Wewak the Japanese lose many planes.

Occupied Italy

Marshal Cavallero, ex-Chief of the Italian General Staff, commits suicide.

Occupied Yugoslavia

Split is occupied by Tito's Partisans.

Solomons

More reinforcements, including an infantry battalion and some Marines with light tanks, are landed on Arundel Island to wipe out the last Japanese resistance.

Pics from September 16, 1943

Meeting of Russian soldiers in liberated Bryansk. September 17, 1943. Bryansk was occupied from 6 October 1941 to 17 September 1943.

Bryansk Liberated

'The Old Standby', B-17F-40-BO, s/n 42-5178, 322nd BS, 91st BG, 8th AF - Taking off for the September 16, 1943 mission to Nantes. Being flown by the 1st-Lt William R. Cox crew. It returned undamaged. Note the external bomb racks.

B-17F-40-BO on Mission to Nantes