Air Operations, CBI

• 3 10th Air Force B-25s attack Indaw after diverting from Bhamo because of bad weather.
• 10th Air Force P-47s attack Indaw, rail facilities, and Japanese Army ground troops.

• 27 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Chuanhsien, Kiyang, and Lingling.
• 14th Air Force P-51s and P-40s mount more than 100 effective sorties against the same targets as well as Changsha and Yiyang.

Air Operations, East Indies

• Despite bad weather, FEAF B-24s attack northeastern Celebes and the airfield at Djailolo.
• FEAF B-24s and B-25s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers, attack airfields on Ceram, Amboina, and Boeroe, and various targets of opportunity.
• 380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Lautem, Timor.
• During the night, FEAF B-24s attack the Menado and Sidate airfields on Celebes.

Air Operations, Europe

• 646 aircraft attack German positions around Calais. In the aircraft total are 437 Lancasters, 169 Halifaxes and 40 Mosquitos. Visibility is good and the bombing is accurate and concentrates.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.

• 5 Hudsons and 2 Lysanders are on Resistance operations and there are 7 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

• 2 Mosquitos and 1 Fortress of No. 100 Group take off, but are quickly recalled because of widespreag fog in England which prevents any major operation from being mounted.

• 644 VIII Fighter Command patrol sorties are mounted over the MARKET-GARDEN battle area.
• 5 fighters are lost to Luftwaffe flak batteries

• To delay German Army reinforcements on their way to Aachen, approximately 40 9th Bomb Division B-26s attack defensive positions at Herbach and a marshalling yard at Trier.

• 15th Air Force B-24s attack oil-industry targets at Bratislava and the Malacky Airdrome.

• 15th Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack rail bridges at Budapest, a marshalling yard and aircraft-industry targets at Gyor, marshalling yards at Hatvan, and a rail bridge at Szob.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack the airfields at Moemi and Ransiki and a supply dump on the Orai River.

Eastern Front

GERMAN COMMAND

With its armies already fighting in the eastern provinces, the Hungarians are presented with a German ultimatum. Unless they accept integration of their forces in the German chain of command they will be disarmed and Germany will seize control of the state. Horthy has little option but to comply.

The Germans form the Volkssturm, a collection of battalion-sized units made up from men and boys between the ages of 16 and 60. The first draft calls 1,200,000 up for service. The new units are given the most basic training and sent to fight the experienced Allied and Soviet soldiers.

Italy

In the US 5th Army's IV Corps area, the 6th RCT of the BEF gains positions on Monte Prano but cannot reach the crest. The 1st Armored Division regroups in order to release CCA to the II Corps. The 370th Infantry, whose 1st Battalion relieves the 14th Armored Infantry Battalion, takes command of the CCA zone. The South African 6th Armored Division extends its left flank to the road northeast of Pescia and reinforces the right flank in the Monte Moscoso area.

In the II Corps area, the 91st and 85th Divisions continue to pursue the enemy toward the Santerno. The 337th Infantry, 85th Division, crosses it east of Firenzuola at San Pellegrino. The 362d Infantry, 91st Division, gets into position for an assault on Futa Pass, the 3rd Battalion pushing across an anti-tank ditch near San Lucia. The corps' reserve division, the 88th, is ordered to attack through the right flank of the 85th Division down the Santerno valley toward Imola on the 21st.

In the British XIII Corps area, the enemy withdrawal from Casaglia Pass permits the 1st Division to push rapidly eastward toward the Indian 8th Division.

In the British 8th Army area, the battle for Rimini Line ends as the Germans withdraw during the night behind the Marecchia River under cover of a drenching rain.

In the V Corps area, San Marino, in the small independent Republic of San Marino, falls to the Indian 4th Division. The 46th Division holds La Torraccia against counterattacks. The 1st Armored Division joins the 56th Division in the fight for the Ceriano ridge, where the enemy continues to resist tenaciously throughout the day before withdrawing.

In the Canadian I Corps area, the Canadian 1st Division battles an encircled enemy at San Fortunato, frustrating German efforts to break out.

Palaus

The 7th Marines attack south into the Umurbrogol. The area left under Japanese control has been compressed into a pocket 950 yards long and 450 yards wide. The terrain here ia a jumble of cliffs, sinkholes, tall, knifelike ridges, and crevasses. Any sizable force entering the canyons or valley is subjugated to heavy fire from all directions. If ridgelines are occupied, the next higher ridgeline or hilltop sweeps the area with rifle and machine-gun fire. At night, the Japanese attack from their caves and tunnels to drive the Americans off any position they still held during the day.

The 81st Infantry Division, with artillery support from the 316th, 317th, 318th, and 906th Field Artillery Battalins, breaks the Japanese defenses at Angaur Island. About 1,400 Japanese troops defend the island, but have now been mostly wiped out. A few units will hold out for some time in the northwest of the island in a wide depression near Lake Salome. Gen Mueller declares organized resistance at an end as 321st Infantry drives to the souther end of island and begins mopping up scattered Japanese.

Western Front

In Operation MARKET GARDEN, the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment attacks through Nijmegen to capture the south end of the bridge. The 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, with a company of the 307th Engineers, crosses the Waal River, using British assault boats in full view of the enemy. The assault troops suffer heavy casualties, but at the end of the day the paratroopers secure the are and open the bridge to British tanks.

In other attacks Polish troops of Canadian 1st Army make gains along the Scheldt estuary and US 3rd Army takes Châtel and Lunèville.[WE]

Images from September 20, 1944

British Troops Crossing the Waal

British Tanks Crossing the Nijmegen Bridge

Surrey Bomb Damage

Advancing Toward Nijmegen

Cromwell Tanks Driving Toward Nijmegen

The Bridge at Nijmegen

British Engineers Removing the Charge

A 6-pdr Anti-tank Gun

Convoy of Allied Trucks Under Fire

Oosterbeek Re-supply Drop

Armored Cars Move Forward

Crossing the Meuse

Nijmegen Road Bridge