Air Operations, CBI

• 15 10th Air Force P-47s support Allied ground forces around Mohnyin.
• 10 P-47s attack two bridges near Mawlu.

• 14th Air Force P-51s and P-40s mount more than 100 effective sorties against numerous targets, especially river traffic and Japanese Army camps, in the Tungting Lake area.

Air Operations, East Indies

• FEAF B-24s attack Djailolo Island, Hate Tobako, Miti on Halmahera, and Parepare on Celebes.
• Fighter-bombers attack Amboina and the Boela airfield on Ceram.

Air Operations, Europe

• 2 Hudsons are on Resistance operations and 4 Wellingtons and 1 Liberator are on signals patrols.
• 1 plane is lost.

• 565 Lancasters and 18 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 3, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to Stuttgart in 2 groups 4-1/2 hours apart. The bombing is not concentrated, but serious damage is done to the central and eastern districts of the city and in some of the suburban towns. Among the damaged buildings is the important Bosch factory.
• 6 Lancasters are lost.
• 263 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group are sent to Nuremburg. This is only a partial success for the No. 5 Group method and the knock-out blow on Nuremberg, which has eluded Bomber Command for so long, is still not achieved. The target area is found to be almost completely cloud-covered. The aiming point is believed to have been the center of the city, but the local report says that the bombing fell almost entirely in the southern districts, the industrial area of Nuremberg.
• 2 Lancasters are lost.

• 48 Mosquitos are sent to Wiesbaden and 6 to Düsseldorf, and there are 82 Mosquito patrols and 49 RCM sorties. 1 Mosquito Intruder is lost but other Mosquitos claim 2 Ju-88s, 1 Ju-188 and 1 Me-110 destroyed and 3 other night fighters damaged, a better-than-average night's success.

Air Operations, Philippines

• The pre-invasion bombardment of Leyte and the neutralization of Japanese air strength on Luzon continues as the Leyte invasion fleet closes on the target.
• FEAF B-24s mount their deepest penetration to date in the Philippines with an attack against the airfield at Cebu City and against shipping around Mindanao and in the Sulu Archipelago.
• 12 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s unable to find worthy targets on Bohol Island attack the Malabang airfield at Mindanao.
• Task Force 38 aircraft attack airfields and shipping in the Manila area.
• 24 Task Force 77.4 TBMs and 48 FMs attack targets on Negros.
• 15 Task Group 77.4 TBMs and 28 FMs attack targets on Panay.
• Throughout the day, a rotating force of 14 Task Group 77.4 TBMs and 28 fighters patrol over the Dulag-Tacloban area of Leyte to mount attacks against ground targets as required by shipborne target coordinators. In all during October 18 and 19, Task Group 77.4 aircraft complete 471 effective sorties against targets on Leyte and the Visayan Islands.
• VF-13 F6Fs down 7 fighters near Manila at 0845 hours.
• A VF-20 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber 40 miles from the carriers at 0845 hours.
• A VF-35 F6F downs a Ki-21 'Sally' bomber over the Fabrica airfield on Negros at 0900 hours.
• 2 VF-60 F6Fs down a Ki-61 'Tony' fighter over Cebu at 1640 hours.
• On Luzon, the Japanese Navy’s First Air Fleet activates a Kamikaze Corps to undertake suicide strikes against the US invasion convoy off Leyte.

Burma

A brigade of the British 26th Div occupies Mohnyin, where the Japanese have abandoned big ammunition and supply dumps.

Eastern Front

Hitler orders Warsaw destroyed. Belgrade is evacuated by the Germans.

The Soviet 14th Army launches an attack from Petsamo against the German XIX Mountain Corps.

The Soviet 5th, 11th Guards, 31st and 39th Armies break through the lines of the 3rd Panzer Army, forcing it to withdraw.

The Soviet 6th Tank Army breaks into Debrecen.

An attempt to relieve Belgrade by Army Group F is defeated with heavy German losses. Inside the city the defenders are nearing annihilation.[MORE]

Italy

Units of the South African 6th Arm Div advance on to the slopes of Monte Salvaro, while others, on the right, are in sight of Monte Alcino, southeast of Monte Salvaro. In the 34th Div sector an attack in force is unleashed on the right flank in the direction of Monte Grande and Monte Cerere. The 88th Div, after an effective bombardment, takes Monte Cerere without difficulty and reaches the top of Monte Grande. On the western flank of the II Corps, the positions of the 91st Div are unchanged.

In the British 8th Army sector, the 5th (Kresowa) Div of the Polish II Corps enters Civitella di Romagna, meeting no resistance. On its left, where the British V Corps is operating, the 46th Div nears Cesena, and its patrols penetrate into the town from the south. At the same time the 4th Div takes the place of the 46th, but the troops that have penetrated into Cesena stay in their positions. Units of the 20th Indian Bde of the 10th Indian Div move across the Savio River in the neighborhood of Falcino, while others from the 25th Bde establish a bridgehead over the Savio not far from Roversano.

Troops from the 10th Indian Div are attacking over the Savio River.

Philippines

While the Leyte invasion force nears its objective under the protection of the US 7th Fleet, the operation of minesweeping and destroying underwater obstacles put down by the Japanese is completed. The escort carriers maintain their attacks on Leyte. Japanese reaction is vigorous. The aircraft carrier Sangamon (CVE-26) is hit by a bomber and 2 destroyers are damaged, the Ross (DD-563) by a mine, the Aulick (DD-569) by coastal defense batteries. The salvage vessel Preserver (ARS-8) is also damaged by a horizontal bomber.

The US 5th Air Force strikes at Mindanao.

The remaining units are concentrated in 1st Air Fleet under Adm Onishi's command on Luzon.

Western Front

In the Antwerp sector, where the II Corps of the Canadian 1st Army is operating, the 52nd Div, just brought up from the rear, takes up a position beyond the bridgehead thrown over the Leopold Canal to the north by the Canadian 3rd Div.

The attacks on Aachen are proceeding and the German resistance is being worn down. Units of the American 1st Div and 3rd Arm Div advance toward the city, one taking Salvator Hill and the other the Lousberg heights. Patrols from the armored division succeed in cutting the Aachen-Laurensberg road.

On the right of the Allied line, farther south, in the 7th Army sector, Bruyères falls to the US 36th Div. The 3rd Div assembles behind the 45th Div as they prepare to assault St Dié.

Images from October 19, 1944

A Churchill Tank of 4th Battalion, The Coldstream Guards, 19 October 1944

Infantrymen of 26th Battalion with full fighting equipment, on the outskirts of Gambettola, on the way to the front line, Italy, 19 October 1944. (Photo- George Kaye)

British Soldiers in Italy

A signals half-track of 11th Armoured Division stuck in the mud in Holland, 19 October 1944

Stuck in the Mud

A wounded US soldier is attended to during fighting in the heavily wooded Ardenne region, Autumn 1944

Wounded Soldier Being Treated

A soldier of 11th Armoured Division digging out his jeep, bogged on a muddy road, 19 October 1944

Jeep in the Mud

Smoke encapsulating the town of Livergnano; created by a US M-2 smoke generator, 19 October 1944

Smoky Livergnano

Burning New Zealand Ammunition Dump outside of Mignano, Italy, 19 October 1944

Evacuation at Ventspils (Windau), 19 October 1944

US serviceman hangs on to the cannon of a Sherman tank to remove its cover, 19 October 1944

Removing the Cover

US Soldier on Top of a Sherman Tank near Santa Lucia, Italy, 19 October 1944

Soviet Red Army infantry troops storm Belgrade reaching the center by the next day when the city fell. The soldier in the front is aiming a DP-27 machine gun, 19 October 1944

Soviet Troops Storm Belgrade

Unidentified World War 2 soldiers of the Maori Battalion on bicycles at Gambettola, Italy, 19 October 1944

Maori Soldier in Italy