Air Operations, CarolinesFollowing heavy air and naval bombardments, US Army ground forces land against light opposition at Angaur Island in the Palau Islands. After 7 US carrier-based F6Fs mistakenly attack US Army ground troops during the afternoon killing 7 and wounding 46, ground-support flight operations over Angaur are temporarily halted. [ | ]Air Operations, CBIBURMA
Air Operations, East Indies
Air Operations, EuropeRAF BOMBER COMMANDDaylight Ops:
Air Operations, New GuineaV Fighter Command P-47s and P-40s attack the airfield at Samate. [ | ]Air Operations, PhilippinesFEAF B-25s attack the Buayoan airfield on Mindanao. [ | ]Britain, Home FrontThe 'blackout' ends in Britain. It is replaced by the 'dim-out' allowing diffused car headlights and low street lighting. [ | ]BurmaOn the British XXXIII Corps front, the 5th Indian Div captures Tuitum. [ | ]Eastern FrontRussian forces enter Estonia. NORTHERN SECTORThe 3rd Baltic Front attacks around Tartu as they try to drive into the rear of the German Narva Group. During the last week the 2nd Shock Army has been transferred from its positions north of Lake Peipus to the Tartu sector. The 2nd attacks alongside the 42nd and 67th Armies, and after bitter fighting breaks through the 18th Army defenses. [ | ]ItalyIn the western sector the American IV Corps opens a general attack on the left flank. [ | ]MorotaiThe US 31st Inf Div begins mopping up the island and occupies the islets off the coast. []PalausGen Paul J. Mueller's US 81st Inf Div lands on Angaur. The Japanese garrison is about 1,600 strong. Resistance to the landings immediately and later during the first night is energetic but neither very powerful nor effective. During the morning, with all the south of the island captured, including Peleliu airfield, the 1st and 5th Marines mount attacks from southwest and southeast on the southern spurs of the highly fortified Mount Umurbrogol in the center of the island, but are halted with heavy losses after taking one or two pill-boxes. The heavy guns of the battleship Mississippi (BB-41) are brought into action, successfully bombarding the Japanese positions. At 8:30a.m. a regiment of the US 322 Inf Div lands on the east coast of the little island of Angaur, south of Peleliu. Japanese resistance is not great and the landing force makes good progress. Japanese counterattacks during the night fail. There are Japanese attacks by night but by day the Americans still hold most of the south side of Peleliu comfortably enough. They begin attacks on the Japanese positions here dispite the support from heavy naval guns because of the strength and elaboration of the Japanese defenses. [ | ]Western FrontOperation MARKET GARDEN is begun. The Allied plan has as its chief proponent Gen Montgomery and is for airborne troops to seize a series of bridges over river and canal lines in Holland allowing the main Allied forces, or part of them, to continue their advance into Germany unimpeded by such natural barriers. The belief is that the German armies in the west have been so decisively weakened by the battles since D-Day that they will collapse if momentum can be sustained. In fact the German forces in Holland generally and especially around the Arnhem area in particular are not as weak as has been believed. It is indeed arguable that the effort put into MARKET GARDEN would have been better spent in clearing the Scheldt estuary and getting Antwerp working to create a solid basis for the future Allied campaigns. In detail the plan provides for 3 airborne divs to be dropped and 5 main bridges to be captured while the British XXX Corps attacks north to link up with each division in turn. The nearest bridges, over canals north of Eindhoven at Veghel and Zon, are the objectives of the US 82nd Airborne Div. These objectives are taken on the first day. The US 101st Airborne Div is dropped around Grave south of Nijmegen with the task of taking the bridges over the Maas at Grave and the Waal at Nijmegen. The first of these is taken on the first day. The farthest bridge is at Arnhem over the lower Rhine. This is the objective of the British 1st Airborne Div. They are dropped deliberately a little distance away from the town to allow some organization before going into battle and on balance this proves to have been a mistaken tactic because of the time it gives the German forces to react. It is unfortunate that a SS Pzr Div, recovering from a mauling on the Eastern Front, is close by and is still a very formidable opponent. The airborne troops, of course, have only weapons light enough to be carried in gliders. One battalion manages to reach the bridge but is there cut off from the remainder of the force which is itself fighting for its life. The Germans retain control of one end of the bridge while the parartroops hold the other. Overall the first day of the operation has been fairly successful. All the bridges are still intact but the deciding factor will be whether XXX Corps can advance fast enough to aid the paratroops in the various landing grounds. As well as the air support for this operation there is a heavy, 3,500 tons, RAF attack on Boulogne before an assault by the Canadian 3rd Div goes in. [ | ]Images from September 17, 1944
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[September 16th - September 18th] |