Air Operations, Carolines

During the night, 868th Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack Japanese airfields and defenses in the Palau Islands.

Air Operations, CBI

• Despite bad weather, 5 10 Air Force B-25s attack Kadu.
• 6 P-40s attack a Japanese Army headquarters at Bhamo and ground troops at Shwekyina.

• 23 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Changsha.
• 16 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Hengyang.
• More than 40 14th Air Force P-40s and P-51s attack targets in and around Hengyang.
• 26 P-40s attack various targets of opportunity.
• An 81st Fighter Group P-47 and two 5th CACW Fighter Group P-40s down 3 Ki-44 'Tojo' fighters over a downed B-29 near Hawyin at 1430 hours.

Air Operations, Europe

• 459 aircraft of Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 8 Groups attack 3 railway yards and 1 bridge. Included in the aircraft total are 270 Lancasters, 169 Halifaxes and 20 Mosquitos. Between 133 and 142 planes bomb the 3 sites of Douai, Lens and Somain. The bombing at these targets start out well but the ground features are rapidly covered by smoke and dust.
• 1 Halifax is lost on the Somain raid.
• 49 aircraft attack the Étaples railway bridge and claim direct hits on the bridge.
• There are no aircraft losses here.
• 53 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group attack the U-boat pens at Bordeaux and La Pallice with 2,000-lb armor-piercing bombs, but examination of these pens after being captured a few weeks later show that these bombs could not penetrate the roofs. 6 Mosquitos of No. 100 Group provide escort on the Bordeaux, but no German fighters are present.
• There are no losses.
• 40 Halifaxes of No. 4 Group 20 Pathfinder Mosquitos attack 4 launch sites. Visibility is clear and the bombing is accurate.
• There are no losses.

• 179 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of Nos. 1 and 8 Groups carry out an exceptionally accurate raid on the railway yards at Givors.
• There are no losses.

• 33 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin and 2 to Trossy St Maxim, 8 Stirlings and 6 Lancasters lay mines off Biscay ports, 14 aircraft are on Resistance operations, and there are 28 Mosquito patrols and 9 RCM sorties.
• 1 Mosquito is lost on the Berlin raid.

• 47 2nd Bomb Division B-24s, 54 3rd Bomb Division B-24s, and 76 Bomb Division B-17s attack four airfields.
• 136 2nd Bomb Division B-24s attack three fuel dumps.
• 153 3rd Bomb Division B-17s attack two marshalling yards.
• 125 2nd Bomb Division B-24s attack marshalling yards at Strasbourg, France, and Saarbrucken, Germany.
• 11 B-24s attack several targets of opportunity.
• 4 heavy bombers are lost
• 275 1st Bomb Division B-17s attack barracks, troop concentrations, fuel dumps, gun emplacements, bunkers, and rail targets in the Brest Peninsula.
• 1 B-17 is lost, but crew bails out safely into friendly hands
• 363 VIII Fighter Command fighters provide escort for the various heavy-bomber missions and 165 fighters undertake a sweep in the Paris area. 8th Air Force fighter pilots down 4 Bf-109s near Paris at 1930 hours.
• 1 P-51 is lost with its pilot

• IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack gun emplacements, an ammo dump, and bridges.
• IX Troop Carrier Command C-47s and 1 IX TAC P-47 squadron drop supplies to elements of the US 30th Infantry Division that are cut off at Mortain.

• 12th Air Force B-25s, B-26s, and fighter-bombers attack gun emplacements along the Mediterranian coast from Genoa, Italy to Nice.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s attack Haur.
• A-20s attack a Japanese Army headquarters at Sawar, shipping off Urarom and in Wandammen Bay, and a radar station and barges on Geelvink Bay.
• V Fighter Command P-39s attack a barge terminal at Kairiru Island and various targets in bypassed areas.

Battle of the Atlantic

• During August and September 17 U-boats are transferred from western France to Norway.
• Sunderland 'P' of No 461 Squadron RAAF attacks a surfaced U-boat, U-385, with 6 depth charges. Although the U-boat continues to engage the aircraft with flak fire, she is dead in the water. The ships of Escort Group 2 are directed to the area and open fire sinking the U-boat in about 5 minutes.

U-385

Eastern Front

The 3rd Baltic Front begins a new offensive south of Lake Peipus. The German line is fractured and advances of up to 15 miles are made to the west and northwest. Hitler's obstinacy has now ensured that his Army Group North will be virtually isolated from the main body of the German army.

After heavy fighting Pechory falls to units of the 3rd Baltic Front.

Guam

The day after the island is declared secured, the 306th Infantry Regiment assaults the command post of Gen Obata on Mount Mataguac. This will be the pattern of action on Guam until the end of the war. Although almost 11,000 Japanese soldiers have been killed, an estimated 10,000 still live in the hills and jungle. American troops will encounter Japanese throughout the next year, and another 8,500 will be killed in skirmishes. For years after the war, gaunt Japanese soldiers will continue to emerge from thickets, unable to believe that Japan has surrendered.

Italy

The first convoys carrying the assault forces for Operation DRAGOON sail from Naples. The Germans evacuate Florence.

Pacific

• The US submarine Cod (SS-224) sinks the Japanese merchant cargo ship Shinsei Maru (4733t) south of the Celebes.
• The US submarine Tang (SS-306) attacks a Japanese convoy off southern Honshu and sinks the merchant cargo ship Roko Maru (3328t).

Secret War

The first test launch of a Ruhrstahl-Kramer X-4 rocket-propelled wire-guided missile, designed for use with the Me-262, is carried out.

Vichy France

Pétain authorizes Adm Paul Auphan to represent Vichy in negotiations proposed to be held with Free French representatives on the future of France. De Gaulle refuses any communication with Vichy.

Western Front

In Brittany the German garrisons at Dinard and St Malo hold out resolutely against the attacks of the units of the 83rd Div. In the American VII Corps sector, the 30th and 35th Divs close in on Mortain, and the German forces there are in difficulties. Field-Marshal von Kluge, Commander-in-Chief in the Western Front, puts the suggestion to Hitler that 3 armored divisions be withdrawn from the Mortain salient to put in a counterattack from west to east on the flank of the US XV Corps. The Führer agrees in principle, but he is anxious not to give up the offensive against Avranches and so authorizes only a partial withdrawal of troops from the Mortain. Farther south the US forces cross the Loire.

The Germans scuttle 26 warships and 28 merchant vessels at Nantes, Bordeaux and in the Gironde and Seine estuaries.

Images from August 11, 1944

Getting Ready to Attack

Polish Resistance