Air Operations, Carolines

• 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.
• USMC transports begin air-evacuating casualties from the airfield on Peleliu to the Momote airfield on Los Negros.

Air Operations, CBI

• 16 10th Air Force P-47s attack Palwesho.
• 8 P-47s attack a bridge near Bhamo.
• 4 P-47s attack several occupied towns near Bhamo.

• 5 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Hsinantien and the Chefang area.
• More than 20 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack the Paoching area.
• More than 80 fighter-bombers attack many targets of opportunity while on armed reconnaissance strikes over large parts of southern China.
• A 23rd Fighter Group P-51 downs a D3A 'Val' dive bomber near Wuchou during the morning.

Air Operations, East Indies

• FEAF B-25s attack Bolaang-oeki and Sidate on Celebes.
• B-25s and A-20s attack the port areas on Amboina and at Halong on Celebes, and various shipping and other targets of oppportunity.
• B-25s and P-40s attack the Galela and Kaoe airfields on Halmahera.

Air Operations, Europe

RAF BOMBER COMMAND
Daylight Ops:

• German U-boats have been forced out of the Biscay ports following the Allied liberation of France and Bergen was one of several Norwegian ports now being used as the forward operating bases for the U-boats. The pens at Bergen are being enlarged with an influx of German technicians and a large labour force. 93 Halifaxes and 47 Lancasters of Nos. 6 and 8 Groups are sent to attack Bergen. Most of the aircraft are allocated to the pens, but 14 Halifaxes and 6 Lancasters are ordered to bomb individual U-boats known to be moored in the harbor. 12 Mosquitos of No. 100 Group act as a long-range fighter escort.
  The raid appears to be successful and only 1 Lancaster is lost. 7 bombs hit the U-boat pens, causing little structural damage because of the thickness of the concrete roof, but the electrical-wiring system in the pens is completely put out of action. Nearby ship-repair yards are seriously damaged. 3 U-boats are damaged by the bombing but they did not sink. 3 other small ships are also hit. Two of them sink and the third the German auxiliary Schwabenland, has to be put in dry dock for repair.

• 2 Wellingtons and 1 Liberator fly RCM sorties without a loss.

• 6 Mosquitos are sent to Pforzheim, and 5 to Heilbronn, 47 Lancasters and 31 Halifaxes lay mines off Oslo and in the Kattegat, 15 aircraft are on Resistance operations, and there are 36 Mosquito patrols and 4 RCM sorties.
• 1 Mosquito is lost on the Heilbronn raid and 2 Lancaster and 1 Halifax are lost laying mines.
• The Me-262 fighters see their first action but are ineffective. They will eventually shoot down 25 Allied bombers, but their cumbersome take-off and landing, and the routing restrictions necessitated by their high fuel consumption, sees 35 of them lost.

• 12th Air Force medium bombers attack two bridges.
• XII Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack communications targets and provide close on-call support for the US 5th Army.
• During the night, XII Fighter Command A-20s attack targets of opportunity in the mountains south of Bologna and around the Arno River valley.

• 327 15th Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack the Munich/West marshalling yard.

• 39 15h Air Force P-51s strafe the Athens/Eleusis, Athens/Kalamaki, and Athens/Tatoi Airdromes.

• 400 15th Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack the Aviano Airdrome and roads and rail lines leading down to Italy from Brenner Pass.

Air Operations, Japan

Despite opposition from as many as 17 Japanese Navy fighters, 4 28th Composite Bomb Group B-25s attack a barge and a freighter off Shimushu Island.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

30th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Iwo Jima and shipping west of Iwo Jima.

Burma

In the British XXXIII Corps sector the 11th East African Div captures Yazagyo, while the 5th Indian Div nears Tiddim.

Eastern Front

In the area of Negotin, Yugoslavia, the Russian 57th Army surrounds and routs the German divisions of the Serbia Group. Pancêvo on the north bank of the Danube just east of Belgrade is taken by troops of the Russian 46th Army of the 3rd Ukraine Front. The Russian forces also reach Vladimirovac and link with Partisan units near there.

Germany, Home Front

It is reported that German males born in 1928 are to be called up.

Greece

Allied forces land on the Pelopanese near Patras. There ore other landings on the Aegean islands. Patras is occupied on October 5.

Japan, Home Front

Mitsuru Toyama, former leader of the extreme right-wing terrorist organization, the 'Black Dragon Society', dies at the age of 89.

Morotai

Morotai Island is cleared of the last enemy forces. The newly built airfield at Wama is operational. Morotai is secured at the cost of 30 Americans killed and 85 wounded.

Norwegian Sea

• In the bombing raid described above (see Air Operations, Europe), U-92 is so badly damaged that she is beyond repair. She is written off October 12.

U-92 Class Type VIIC/40 CO Oberleutnant zur See Wilhelm Brauel Location Norwegian Sea, Bergen Cause Air attack Casualties Unknown Survivors None

U-228 Class Type VIIC/40 CO Kapitänleutnant Herbert Engel Location Norwegian Sea, Bergen Cause Air attack Casualties Unknown Survivors None

• U-228 is sunk in the bombing attack on the U-boat pens at Bergen (see Air Operations, Europe).
• U-437 is so badly damaged in the bombing raid she was beyond repair. She is written off October 10.

U-437 Class Type VIIC/40 CO Kapitänleutnant Hermann Lamby Location Norwegian Sea, Bergen Cause Air attack Casualties Unknown Survivors None

U-993 Class Type VIIC/40 CO Oberleutnant zur See Karl-Heinz Steinmetz Location Norwegian Sea, Bergen Cause Air attack Casualties Unknown Survivors None

• U-993 is sunk in the bombing attack on the U-boat pens.(see Air Operations, Europe)

Pacific

• The US tank landing craft LCT-579 is sunk by mine off Palau.
• The US submarine Flasher (SS-249) sinks the Japanese army cargo ship Taibin Maru (6886t) in the South China Sea north of Luzon.

Palau Islands

In torrential rain the 7th Marine Regt continues its attacks against the Japanese positions on Mount Umurbrogol, Peleliu, but at the end of the day it has suffered such heavy losses that headquarters orders its relief. Although the islands were effectively secured in late September, the mopping-up operations have been costly. Between Sept 25 and Oct 5, 336 US soldiers have been killed and 1,707 wounded. The Japanese death toll on Peleliu and Angaur has been put at 2,755 in the same period.

United States, Planning

The JCS makes the decision to land on Luzon, the main island of the Philippines, and liberate the capital city of Manila. Five divisions will be available to land on Leyte. An attack to seize Iwo Jima is scheduled fo January 20, 1945, followed by an attack to capture Okinawa on March 1. Another nine divisions will be available for an attack on Formosa after June 1945.

Western Front

There is a German counterattack by the 6th Panzer Div against the US XIX Corps of the US 1st Army which have broken through the Siegfried Line north of Aachen. The Americans hold their ground. The American V Corps operating in the Luxembourg sector, is also preparing to attack the Siegfried Line.

The Canadians of the 2nd Div, 1st Army, continue to advance north of Antwerp, liberating the Merxerem-Eeckeren sector.

Images from October 4, 1944

Bór-Komorowski Leaving SS Headquarters

M10 17-pdr Tank Destroyer

Achilles Tank Destroyer

Red Cross Workers Serve Food

Canadian Infantry Soldiers

HMCS Chebogue

Preparing To Tow HMCS Chebogue

Bór-Komorowski After Surrender

TBM-1D Avenger Launches from Independence

V-2 Crater