Air Operations, Carolines

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

Air Operations, CBI

• 9 10th Air Force B-25s attack a bomb dump at Pinwe.
• 26 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack Mawlu, Pinbaw, and Pinwe.
• 20 fighter-bombers attack Japanese Army troops and dumps at Mankwi, Myothit, and Tali.
• 7 fighter-bombers attack two bridges.

• More than 30 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the airfield at Pailochi, shipping at Takao (Formosa), and the cities of Hengyang, Sinsiang, and Tungling.
• 51 14th Air Force P-51s and P-40s attack the Hengyang area.
• More than 50 fighter-bombers attack troops, rail lines, shipping, and motor traffic across a broad area.
• 18 P-38s and P-40s attack Tengchung.

Air Operations, Europe

1,000 Allied heavy bombers attack roads leading to the Seine from Paris to the sea. There are also heavy raids on railway bridges in southern France.

• 28 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of No. 5 Group attack the U-boat pens and shipping at Brest. Hits are claimed on the pens, on the hulk of an old French battleship, the Clémenceau, and on a medium-sized tanker. The object of the attacks on ships is to prevent the Germans using any of the large ships in Brest to block the harbor just before its capture by American troops.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.
• 15 Lancasters of No. 5 Group bomb an oil depot at Bordeau accurately.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.
• 8 Mosquito fighters and 1 RCM Wellington of No. 100 Group carry out operations without a loss.

• 30 Mosquitos are sent to Hannover, 10 Halifaxes and 5 Lancasters lay mines off Biscay ports, 4 Halifaxes are on Resistance operations, and there are 15 Mosquito patrols and 22 RCM and 9 OTU sorties.
• There are no losses.

• 1,206 8th Air Force B-17s and B-24s, escorted by 131 VIII Fighter Command P-51s, take part in efforts to close transportation chokepoints in the area between Paris and Le Havre. Several coastal batteries and targets of opportunity are also attacked.
• 13 heavy bombers are lost
• VIII Fighter Command fighter-bombers mount 844 effective sorties during the day against transportation targets, mostly in the vicinity of the Seine River. Fighter pilots claim the destruction of 776 motor vehicles, which is a credible count in light of the terrific road congestion caused by the German Army's collapse and headlong retreat in the Falaise area.
• 13 fighter-bombers are lost with their pilots

• More than 575 IX Bomber Command B-26 and A-20 sorties are mounted against several fuel storage facilities and, in the main, 70 transportation chokepoints in and around the Falaise pocket.
• 9th Air Force fighter-bombers attack numerous ground targets in and around the battle area.

• 397th Medium Bomb Group B-26s attack a marshalling yard at Corbiel score direct hits on an ammunition train, which in turn destroys three other military-supply trains and flattens neighboring wargoods factories.
• IX Troop Carrier Command C-47s mount at least 125 transportation and evacuation sorties.
• XIX TAC fighter pilots down 12 Luftwaffe fighters over France between 0825 and 2015 hours.
• During the night, IX Bomber Command B-26s attack an ammo dump and a troop bivouac.

• 12th Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack coastal defenses aorund Marseille.
• 12th Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers attack six airdromes in southern France and one in northwestern Italy.

• XII TAC A-20s attack ordnance dumps in the Arno River valley, targets of opportunity in the Po River valley, and a fuel dump in the northern Italy battle area.

• Operating in support of the DRAGOON pre-invasion plan, nearly 500 15th Air Force B-17s and B-24s, escorted by more than 180 fighters, attack a variety of German Army gun positions and bridges between Genoa, Italy, and Toulon.
• 31 15th Air Force P-38s dive-bomb the Montelimar Airdrome.

• 28 15th Air Force B-17s attack targets around Pec.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack bivouacs and dumps at Manokwari.
• V Fighter Command P-39s join US Navy PT-boats in an attack against Dagua.
• P-39s and P-47s support Allied ground forces at Sarmi and attack Cape Wom, Matapau, Suain, and Ulban.

Air Operations, Philippines

14th Air Force long-range aircraft reconnoiter the docks at Manila. Upon learning of this mission, both Gen Joseph W. Stilwell and Gen Douglas A. MacArthur warn Maj-Gen Claire L. Chennault that he is not authorized to open a bombing campaign against targets in the Philippines.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-547 is damaged by a British air-laid mine off Pauillac, but is able to make the return trip to Germany.

U-547 Class Type IXC CO Oberleutnant zur See Heinrich Niemeyer Location Bay of Biscay, Gironde Estuary Cause Mine Casualties Unknown Survivors Unknown

U-270 Class Type VIIC CO Oberleutnant zur See Heinrich Schreiber Location Bay of Biscay, W of La Rochelle Cause Air attack Casualties 10 Survivors 74

• U-270 is traveling fromj Lorient to La Pallice carrying base personnel when she is spotted by Sunderland 'A' of No 461 Squadron RAAF. She is attacked with 6 depth charges which fractures the pressure hull causing massive flooding. The ship is abandoned shortly thereafter.

China

Gen Claire Chennault sends a number of reconnaissance aircraft of the US 14th Air Force on a mission over Manila, in the Philippines. His action is immediately criticized by Stilwell and MacArthur, who insist, on political grounds, that the Philippines must not be bombed.

Eastern Front

Verro falls as the 67th Army advances upon Tartu and the 1st Shock Army upon Valk (now Valga).

A powerful German attack was directed at the Old Town's northern and western defence lines. This afternoon soldiers of the Gustaw Battalion captured a German tank, which turned out to be a trap. German troops attacked a barricade in the Old Town Sector with three tanks. Two of their tanks withdrew under heavy fire from insurgents but the third one, though smaller in size, sped toward the barricade under cover of German fire. The crew then jumped out and escaped. The insurgents noticed that the tank was intact and seemed to be in good working order so they dismantled part of the barricade at Podwale Street and drove the tank into their compound on Kilinskiego Street. At first it caused quite a sensation and hundreds of insurgents and civilians gathered round to get a look at it. Forty five minutes later in front of house no. 1, the tank exploded with great force killing over 350 people. Among the dead are about 100 Polish soldiers from the "Rog" Regiment and units from "Gustaw","Wigry", and "Gosdawa" battalions, as well as many civilians. AK engineers later concluded that the Germans had rigged the tank with high explosives which was detonated by remote control.

Bach-Zelewski realizes it is going to take a house-by-house struggle to destroy the Home Army. To blast the Poles into submission, the Germans bring up a 600-mm mortar, a pair of 380-mm howitzers and two 280-mm howitzers.

Italy

Indian troops cross the Ponte Vecchio in Florence to help Italians clear the city of Germans.

Pacific

• The US submarine Flier (SS-250) sinks from an internal explosion in the Balabac Strait, North Borneo.
• The US submarine Bluegill (SS-242) sinks the Japanese submarine chaser CH-12, the auxiliary submarine chaser Misago Maru and the transport Kojun Maru (1931t) in the Philippine Islands area.
• The US submarine Barbel (SS-316) sinks the Japanese cargo ship Koan Maru (3462t) off Amami Oshima.
• The US submarine Tambor (SS-198) sinks the Japanese army cargo ship Toei Maru (2323t) in the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk.

Western Front

German troops start pulling out through the Falaise gap. The escape corridor is held open by fierce German resistance. US and Canadian units begin sweeping around the Falaise-Argentan outlet to close it. Argentan is largely cleared by XV Corps attacks but Gen Bradley, commanding 12th Army Group, orders a halt here. To the south units of XII and XX Corps are advancing on Orleans and Chartres from around Le Mans. Southwest of Le Mans, meanwhile, the American 4th Arm Div and 35th Div are concentrated under the command of Gen Manton Eddy in XII Corps. Their first mission is to advance east in the direction of Orléans.

After reaching Mayenne, the VII Corps moves north toward the road connecting Vire with Argentan.

Images from August 13, 1944

Home Army Soldier Defending a Barricade

Religious Services On Board LST-4

Checking for Mines

Upton Lane School

USAT George O. Squier (AP-130)

German Heavy Tank T-VIB

22nd Armored Brigade Workshops

Disabled Sherman Tank at a Workshop

Destroyed Case of the German Borgward B IV

Search and Rescue in Warsaw

Destroyed Apartment Houses in Podwale Street

German Tank Rigged to Explode