Air Operations, Europe

RAF Bomber Command continues its campaign with attacks on Duisburg, Mainz and Frankfurt. The first independent raids by US heavy bombers are made on targets in occupied France (see August 17). Altogether US planes drop 170 tons of bombs and also take a small part in the offensive sweeps made by other units of the RAF against communications targets in France.

During August a Pathfinder Force for Bomber Command is established. This unit is to have responsibility for marking targets for the main force to bomb. Harris has opposed its formation as unnecessary and as bad for the morale of Bomber Command as a whole. Harris is certainly wrong in his opposition and, because of the Pathfinder Force and the technique it develops, accuracy will improve. In the short term there is a setback for bombing accuracy as the Germans have now begun completely effective jamming of the navigational aid 'Gee'. It will still be useful for homing aircraft to their bases.

Battle of the Atlantic

The total Allied shipping losses in all theaters are 123 ships of 661,100 tons of which submarines sink 108 ships of 544,400 tons.(Allied Ships Lost to U-boats this month) The U-boats are now operating again on the main North Atlantic convoy routes. Other U-boat concentrations are off Brazil and Venezuela, with some still in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. A further group operates off Freetown. The narrow channels in Caribbean waters mean that there are many targets for the U-boats there, but that making attacks is difficult. The protection of traffic off Brazil is made easier by Brazil's entry into the war on August 22 following many German provocations and especially the sinking of 5 ships off Bahia on the 16th and 17th by U-507. Bases can be provided for the Allies in Brazil. The German prospects are improved by the fitting of Metox radar search receivers to some of their boats. These are effective against radar on the 1.5-meter wavelength.

A new phase in the Battle of the Atlantic now begins and lasts until May 1943. During this period the activities of groups of U-boats, the so-called 'wolf packs', rise to a climax. An average of 108 submarines operate at a time. The successes logged by the German submarines add up to a formidable total: 3,857,705 tons of shipping sunk for the loss of 123 U-boats. However, as time goes by the German success grows less and less striking: by the early months of 1943 the Allies have got long-range aircraft specially adapted for submarine hunting, Asdic (Sonar), more escort ships and submarine-hunters, particularly active in the Bay of Biscay, equipped with powerful depth charges. By this time the price the German craft have to pay for their successes is out of proportion to the results achieved.

Air Operations, Europe

• 6 Bostons to Flushing docks
• 2 aircraft lost
• 5 Mosquitos to different German targets
• 1 plane lost

A Douglas Boston Bombing Flushing, Holland

Air Operations, Mediterranean

USAMEAF B-24s attack an Axis convoy at sea claim mortal hits on a large merchant ship. 1 B-24 is written off after crash-landing at its base.

Air Operations, New Guinea

5th Air Force B-17s attack Gona and Japanese shipping in Huon Gulf. 35th Fighter Group P-400s down an A6M Zero and a twin-engined reconnaissance plane over Buna during the morning.

Air Operations, North Africa

Cairo is bombed by Axis planes.

Air Operations, Solomons

11th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s based at Efate/Vila Field attack the Japanese Navy seaplane base at Gavutu Island downing 2 A6M2-N 'Rufe' float fighters in the process.

China

Chiang Kai-shek accepts Gen Stilwell's proposal that he should assist in the re-capture of Burma, and modifies the requests he put forward on June 29.

Eastern Front

The forces of Army Group A continue to advance fanning out south of Rostov, cutting the railway between Novorossiysk and Stalingrad and capturing the town of Salsk, a rail center. They reach the Kuban River near Kropotkin. There is more fierce fighting in the bend of the Don near Kalach and Kletskaya. In the central sector the Russians renew their attacks in the Rzhev area.

CENTRAL SECTOR

The Kalinin Front, using the 30th and 29th Armies, begin a series of attacks aimed at clearing the Germans from the north bank of the Volga around Rzhev and taking the town. The 31st and 20th Armies of the West Front are to punch their way through the south face of the salient, taking Pogoreloye, Gorodische and Karmanovo. The attack continues during August, placing great pressure upon the 9th Army but failing to make any territorial gain.

In the Don Elbow fierce battles rage as the 1st and 4th Tank Armies of the Stalingrad Front try to gain time for the shattered 62nd and 64th Armies to fall back across the Don. There is heavy fighting around Kalach where the 64th Army crosses to the east bank.

The 1st Panzer Army pushes deeper into the Caucasus, the 13th Panzer Division reaching the Kuban at Kropotkin and threatening the rear of the 44th Army in the Kuban peninsula.

Air Operations, New Guinea

1 5th Air Force B-17 attacks Gona and another attempts to hit a Japanese Navy cargo vessel at sea near Salamaua without result.

Air Operations, North Africa

Allied planes strike at Axis communciation and supply lines in North Africa.

Allied Preparations

The transit of US troops to Britain aboard the large liners Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary and Nieuw Amsterdam begins. These vessels cannot be given standard escorts because of their high speed, but the Admiralty chooses their route based on knowledge of U-boat locations via the code-breaking services.

Diplomatic Relations

Rumania declares war on Nicaragua and Haiti.

Eastern Front

German mobile units enter Kotelnikovo as they push toward Stalingrad.

The Stalingrad Front is dismembered, being split up into 2 new formations. A smaller Stalingrad Front is created and a new Southeast Front formed. The Stalingrad Front, with the 63rd, 21st, 62nd, 1st Guards, 4th Tank and 16th Air Armies, is placed under the command of Gen Vasily Gordov, while Gen Andrey Eremenko takes over the Southeast Front, which deploys the 64th, 57th and 51st Armies and the 8th Air Army. Gen Fyodor Tolbukhin's 57th Army has only recently deployed on the southern approaches to Stalingrad. The boundary of the 2 fronts is along the Tsaritsyn River in Stalingrad and on the Kalach.

Malta

Axis bombers continue to strike the harbors, airfields and other military installations on the island.

Air Operations, Aleutians

3 28th Composite Bomb Group B-17s, 2 B-24s and an LB-30 attack and photograph targets at Kanaga, Kiska and Tanaga Islands.

Air Operations, Europe

• Russian naval planes attack a Luftwaffe bomber base near the Sea of Azov.
• German planes bomb Iceland.

• Halifaxes to Hamburg; 2 Mosquitoes to Hagen and Vegesack
• All turn back due to lack of cloud

• 8 Lancasters lay mines in Kiel Bay and off Denmark
• No losses

Australian Transport Sinks in Port Moresby

Air Operations, New Guinea

5th Air Force P-400s attack ground targets at Kokoda and Oivi.

Battle of the Atlantic

British submarine Saracen is on patrol north of the Shetlands when receiving orders to shift patrol in response to intelligence reports that a number of U-boats were outbound to the Atlantic. At 2159, while the boat was submerged, U-335 surfaces less than a mile away. Saracen fires all six bow tubes and the U-boat disintegrates in a huge explosion.

U-335

Britain, Command

Churchill and Gen Brooke arrive in Cairo to investigate what is wrong with the 8th Army and to provide new commanders. Churchill feels that with the lavish resources sent to 8th Army far more should have been achieved.

British Matilda Tank Being Loaded onto a Transport

Eastern Front

Army Group B continues to attack Kletskaya. 4th Panzer Army, having crossed the Don and establishing a bridgehead at Tsimlyansky, is now driving east around Kotelnikovo. The Russians, however, succeed in holding the region north of the great bend of the Don, with a certain number of bridgeheads across the river, for instance at Kletskaya, barring the way to the German Army Group B. 1st Panzer Army is mounting 2 attacks from its position on the Kuban, east toward Voroshilovsk (now Stavropol) and south toward Maykop. Voroshilovsk is captured by the Germans who establish a bridgehead on the other side of the Kuban which exposes the Maikop oil fields.

Air Operations, Aleutians

2 54th Fighter Squadron P-38s each down a H6K 'Mavis' patrol bomber near Atka Island between noon and 1225 hours. This is the first aerial engagement ever by USAAF P-38 fighters.

Air Operations, CBI

23rd Fighter Group P-40s bomb Japanese Army headquarters buildings and barracks, and strafe transports at Linchwan, China.

Air Operations, Europe

• 3 Mosquitos and 1 Wellington to the Ruhr, Stuttgart and Bremen
• All turn back

• 38 aircraft to Essen
• Encounter icing; only 18 bomb Essen area
• 1 Lancaster lost
• 45 aircraft lay mines in the Frisians and off Brest, Lorient and St Nazaire
• 2 Wellingtons lost

Air Operations, Mediterranean

USAMEAF B-24s attack an Axis convoy at sea during the night and claim hits on 2 merchant ships.

Air Operations, Solomons

3 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s, based at the Efate/Vila Field, attack the Japanese Navy seaplane base at Gavutu Island. 1 B-17 is lost when it is rammed by a damaged A6M2-N 'Rufe' float fighter.

Britain, Home Front

The House of Commons passes a bill transferring jurisdiction over offenses committed by American servicemen from the British civil courts to US military tribunals.

Eastern Front

Heavy attacks by the 21st, 1st and 4th Tank Armies fail to push the Germans away from the Don. Stalin appoints Gen Nikolai Trufanov to command the 51st Army.

German Armored Car in Sevastopol

Mediterranean

Late in the evening of August 3, an ASV-equipped Wellington of No 231 Squadron obtains a submarine (U-372) contact southwest of Haifa and marks the spot with a flare. The British destroyers Sikh and Zulu, which are working with the aircraft, hunt throughout the night and the next morning and use all their available depth charges. Two more destroyers, Croome and Tetcott, join the hunt shortly afternoon on August 4. Leaking oil, the U-boat surfaces to see if escape would be possible this way. Faced by four destroyers, the U-boat captain takes the only option open to him and scuttles the boat.

U-372

Air Operations, CBI

Japanese bombers and fighters attack the USAAF airfield at Kweilin. 23rd Fighter Group P-40s shoot down 2 Ki-27 'Nate' fighters at 0730 hours.

Air Operations, Europe

• 3 Mosquitos to Germany
• Only 1 drops bombs
• No losses

• 25 planes to the Ruhr, 17 to Essen and 8 to Bochum
• Plan is to reach area by Gee, then bomb visually through cloud gaps; only 3 bomb at Bochum and 1 at Essen
• 3 Halifaxes, 1 Lancaster and 1 Wellington are lost

• In minor ops, 57 aircraft lay mines off France, Holland and Germany; 14 aircraft make leaflet flights
• 1 minelaying Wellington lost

A Halifax Being Prepared for Take-Off

In the first mission overseen by VIII Fighter Command, 11 31st Fighter Group Spitfires undertake and uneventful sweep over the French coast.

Air Operations, Solomons

Several 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack port facilities at Tulagi Island and Kukum, Guadalcanal. 1 B-17 is shot down by an A6M2-N 'Rufe' float fighters.

Battle of the Atlantic

Over the course of the next 9 days convoy SC-94 is attacked by a U-boat wolf pack during its passage across the Atlantic. This marks the return of the U-boats to large-scale operations on the main north Atlantic routes. SC-94 loses 11 ships, but 2 of the attacking U-boats are sunk and 4 are damaged.

US Destroyer Turcker Sinks At Bruat Channel

Eastern Front

There is heavy fighting in Rzhev sector of the Central Front. The German attacks continue, with Army Group A making some progress near the Kuban River establishing a bridgehead in the area of Armavir-Nevinnomyssk. This is close to the northern foothills of the Caucasus and the Maykop oilfields. Kropotkin is also taken by the Germans. The Red Army continues its courageous but apparently vain defense of the great bend of the Don in front of Stalingrad. The Russians suffer heavy losses. Kotelnikovo is occupied as the Germans start moving troops across the Kuban River.

The 21st, 1st and 4th Tank Armies halt their attacks after a total lack of success.

Hoth breaches the Soviet outer defenses around Stalingrad as the 64th and 57th Armies are attacked southwest of the city. Fierce fighting erupts at Tinguta station as panzers bog down in extensive Soviet minefields. The 4th Panzer Army suffers heavy casualties, its attack coming to a costly halt. With the Germans stalled, the Soviets launch a furious counterattack, forcing the 4th Panzer onto the defensive. As the 4th Panzer approaches from the southwest, the 6th Army hits the 64th Army.

Air Operations, CBI

11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s attack the Tienho airfield at Canton.

Air Operations, Europe

• 3 Mosquitos to Germany
• 1 aircraft bombs at Hanover
• No losses

• 216 aircraft of 5 types attack Duisburg
• Most bomb loads fall in open country west of the target area; in Duisburg, 18 buildings are destroyed, 66 damaged; 24 people killed
• 2 Halifaxes, 2 Stirlings and 1 Wellington lost

• 5 aircraft to Le Havre, but do not bomb; 3 Blenheims on Intruder flights; 1 Lancaster lays mines in the Frisians
• No losses

Air Operations, Libya

USAMEAF B-24s attack the harbor at Tobruk.

Air Operations, New Guinea

5th Air Force B-25s and 22nd Medium Bomb Group B-26s attack the airfields at Lae and Salamaua.

Baltic Sea

U-612 sinks following a collsion with U-444. She is subsequently raised and put back in service as a training boat.

U-612

Britain, Command

After much discussion of various proposals, Gen Alexander is chosen to command in the Middle East and Gen Gott to have tactical control of 8th Army.

Battle of the Atlantic

• Operating against Convoy SC-94, U-210 by the Canadian destroyer Assiniboine. The destroyer opens fire. The U-boat returns fire but is rammed by Assiniboine and left wallowing on the surface. Her conning tower is wrecked from a direct hit from a 4.7in shell which killed the CO and all those on the bridge. The destroyer turns and rams the submarine again which sinks the submarine.

U-210

Class	Type VIIC
CO	Kapitänleutnant Rudolf Lemcke
Location	North Atlantic
Cause	Ramming
Casualties	6
Survivors	37

U-210 Seen from HMCS Assiniboine

Assiniboine Maneuevers to Ram U-210

• The unarmed US schooner Wawaloam (342t), en route to St John's, Newfoundland, is sunk by shellfire from U-86 but suffers no casualties to the 7 on board.

Diplomatic Relations

• The British Government formally denounces the Munich Agreement of September 1938.
• Queen Wilhelmina of Holland addresses a joint session of the US Congress.

Eastern Front

The Russians admit the loss of Kotelnikovo. Army Group B is beginning to wear down the Russian defenses in the Don elbow. 17th Army from Army Group A manages to capture Tikhoretsk, in the Kuban area south of Rostov and north of Krasnodar. They also seize Armavir on the Kuban River. In the bend of the Don near Stalingrad the Soviet resistance to Army Group B is weakening.

Heavy attacks are unleashed against the Demyansk salient. The 11th Army launches strong attacks aimed at nipping off the salient and isolating the Germans.

Air Operations, Aleutians

7 28th Composite Bomb Group are sent to attack Kiska. 4 return due to mechanical problems, the other 3 do not attack due to cloud cover over the target.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

13 19th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack the Vunakanau airfield at Rabaul. 1 B-17 is lost.

Air Operations, Europe

• 3 Mosquitos to Germany
• Only 1 drops bombs on either Mannheim or Worms
• No losses

Air Operations, New Guinea

22nd Medium Bomb Group B-26s attack Lae. A 5th Air Force B-17 and a B-26 attack a Japanese submarine in the Gulf of Papua.

Air Operations, Solomons

At 1315 hours, 27 Rabaul-based G4M 'Betty' medium bombers, escorted by 17 A6M Zeros, attack the Allied invasion fleet off Guadalcanal but are driven off by 18 VF-5 and VF-6 F4Fs who down 8 of the 'Betty' bombers and 1 Zero over the fleet. 8 F4Fs and 1 SBD are lost, but most of the American airmen are rescued. A second attack comes in at 1430 hours by 9 D3A 'Val' dive bombers. 1 US destroyer is lightly damaged by a bomb. 5 'Vals' are shot down by VF-6 F4Fs and 4 ditch on their return flight to Rabaul.

Aleutians

The Japanese-held island of Kiska is bombarded by an American naval task force of cruisers and destroyers commanded by Rear-Adm William W. Smith. Some military installations are damaged.

Eastern Front

Fierce fighting continues around Rzhev as the Soviet and German armored units struggle to gain headway. Losses to both combatants are very heavy.

The Germans launch a massive effort to crush the 62nd Army in the Don Elbow. The 24th and 16th Panzer Divisions hit both flanks of the 62nd.

Mediterranean

The British submarine Proteus sinks the German steamer Wachtfels (8467t) near Sicily.

North Africa

Gen William H. E. Gott is killed on the flight back to Cairo when his plane is intercepted by 2 German Messerschmidts. Gen Gott, XIII Corps commander, had been chosen to take over the command of the 8th Army. Gen Sir Bernard Law Montgomery is chosen to replace him.

Occupied Holland

987 Dutch Jews are sent to Auschwitz.

Pacific

The US submarine Tambor (SS-198) sinks the Japanese auxiliary netlayer Shofuku Maru (891t) off Wotje, Marshalls.

Palestine

Sir John Grigg announces the creation of a Palestine Regiment in the British Army. This unit will be made up of separate Arab and Jewish battalions. The training provided for service in these units will provide valuable experience for the postwar operations of both sides.

Air Operations, Aleutians

Patrol Wing 4 PBYs attack a freighter, a transport and ground targets at Kiska.

Air Operations, Asia

US planes attack Japanese installations in Canton, China.

Air Operations, CBI

11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s attack the Tienho airfield at Canton and other targets in the Canton area. 23rd Fighter Group P-40s, in an escort role, shoot down Japanese fighters over Canton.

Air Operations, Europe

• 12 Lancasters lay mines in Kiel Bay and off Denmark
• No losses

Air Operations, New Guinea

5th Air Force B-17s, B-25s and 22nd Medium Bomb Group B-26s attack the airfields at Lae and Salamaua and other targets of opportunity. 32 35th Fighter Group P-400s bomb and strafe ground targets at Kokoda and Yodda.

Air Operations, Solomons

23 torpedo-laden G4M 'Betty' bombers and 15 escorting A6M Zeros from Rabaul attack the Allied fleet off Guadalcanal at 1156 hours. Vf-6 F4Fs down 4 'Bettys' and 1 Zero and an SBD gunner is credited with downing another Zero. Despite these victories and 13 other 'Bettys' brought down by ships' fire, 1 US Navy destroyer is severely damaged by a torpedo and a transport is set afire and runs aground after a severely damaged Zero crashes into it.

Allied Command

Roosevelt and Churchill agree that Gen Eisenhower shall lead Operation TORCH, the Allied invasion of North Africa.

Battle of the Atlantic

• A dozen mines are laid near St John's Lightship off Jacksonville, Florida by a German submarine. They are discovered 3 days later and destroyed.
• The US freighter Kaimoku, en route to Liverpool in Convoy SC-94, it torpedoed and sunk by shellfire from U-379 losing 2 of her crew and 2 of the Armed Guard in the attack. The survivors are rescued by the Canadiand corvette HMCS Battleford.
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Eastern Front

Army Group A continues to drive south as well as consolidate its gains near the Kuban River. Army Group B captures Surovniko, west of Stalingrad. The Germans reach the Maikop oilfield in the Caucasus, which has been destroyed.

CENTRAL SECTOR


Zubtsov falls to the Soviets after a costly battle. The Germans restore their lines east of Sychevka, having repelled the massed Soviet armored forces.

SOUTHERN SECTOR


The German attacks in the Don Elbow takes Surovniko as the XIV and XXIV Panzer Corps penetrate into the flanks of the 62nd Army and the 1st Tank Army. Soviet armored losses are crippling as the Luftwaffe pounds Soviet movement.

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The remainder of the first American wave lands on Guadalcanal. The forces advancing inland easily seize the village of Kukum and the Japanese airstrip which is renamed Henderson Field. The capture of Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo is completed. Waves of Japanese aircraft attack the American naval forces carrying the landing force, sinking the transport George F. Elliott (AP-13) and damaging the transport Barnett (AP-11) and the destroyer Jarvis (DD-393), which sinks the next day trying to reach Noumea. Because of the intense air and submarine activity. Fletcher decides, probably incorrectly, to withdraw his carriers but the cruisers and transports near Guadalcanal remain.

The Japanese have failed, however, in their aim of attacking the transports unloading off Lunga Point. The transports are withdrawn because of the Japanese threat. The Marines are left very short of heavy equipment and with only about half their supplies.[MORE]

US Destroyer-Minesweeper Hopkins Passing Transport Area

Japanese Planes Attack the Tulagi Invasion Force

Japanese Planes Make Torpedo Attack

Air Operations, CBI

4 11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s and 3 23rd Fighter Group P-40s based at Kweilin and Hengyang stage through Nanning attack port facilities at Haiphong, Indochina. A freighter is sunk in the attack.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

5th Air Force B-17s attack Japanese Navy airfields at Rabaul and Gasmata, New Britain.

Air Operations, Europe

• 3 Mosquitos to Germany; 1 bombs at Frankfurt
• No losses

• 192 aircraft to Osnabrück: 91 Wellingtons; 42 Lancasters; 40 Stirlings; 19 Halifaxes
• Visibility good, but initial flares scattered over wide area; ground reports: 206 houses and 1 military installation destroyed, 4,000 others light damage; industrial damage include a vehicle works, a gas meter factory, a textile factory and an iron foundry; 62 people killed, 107 injured
• First effective jamming of Gee signals achieved by Germans this night; in mid-flight, RAF pilots find their 'Gee' radar jammed. It appears that the Germans have sited jamming equipment all over Europe, including one in Paris on the Eiffel Tower, and now the British have to work fast to develop their new bombing aid 'Oboe'.
• 3 Halifaxes and 3 Wellingtons lost

• 18 planes to Le Havre, 13 Blenheim Intruders, 3 aircraft lay mines in the Frisians
• No losses

Air Operations, New Guinea

5th Air Force B-17s attack Salamaua.

Air Operations, Solomons

On its way back to New Caledonia alone, the US Navy destroyer Jarvis, damaged by a torpedo the previous day off Guadalcanal, is attacked by 16 G4M 'Betty' bombers out of Rabaul. The ship is hit by several torpedos. 2 'Bettys' are brought down by the ship's guns, but the Jarvis sinks with all hands including a downed VF-5 F4F pilot rescued by the ship on the 7th.

Battle of Savo Island

On learning of the American landings in the Solomons, the Japanese send a squdron from Rabaul on the night of August 8. This force consists of 5 heavy cruisers: Chokai, Aoba, Kako, Kinugasa and Furutaka; 2 light cruisers: Tenryu and Yubari; and the destroyer Yunagi. With Vice-Adm Gunichi Mikawa in command they are to take the Allied fleet protecting the transports for the Solomons landing by surprise off Savo Island.

The Allies squadron, commanded by Australian Adm Victor A. C. Crutchley, is composed of 6 heavy cruisers: Chicago (CA-29), Astoria (CA-34), Quincy (CA-39), Vincennes (CA-44), the Australian ships Australia and Canberra; 2 light cruisers: San Juan (CVL-30) and the Australian Hobart; and 8 destroyers.

Just after midnight the Japanese force enters Sealark Channel, later renamed Ironbottom Sound. During a hard-fought, two hour one-sided night battle at which the Japanese are better trained and equipped, the heavy cruisers Astoria, Quincy, Vincennes and Canberra are sunk and the heavy cruiser Chicago and 2 destroyers, the Ralph Talbot (DD-390) and the Patterson (DD-392), are severely damaged. The Japanese get away almost unharmed; the cruisers Kinugasa, Chokai and Aoba are slightly damaged, and they have 58 dead and 53 wounded. The Allied losses are 1,023 dead and 709 wounded.[MORE]

Australian Ship Supporting American Landings

Destroyers Removing Crew of Australian Cruiser

Battle of the Atlantic

Just before midnight on the 8th two U-boats are spotted near Convoy SC-94. The British corvette HMS Dianthus opens fire forcing the U-boats to dive. A depth-charge attack blows the one of the submarines, U-379, to the surface. Dianthus opens fire with all available guns and then rams the U-boat no less than four times before she sinks. Dianthus is badly damaged and takes up position as one of the convoy.

U-379

Eastern Front

From Army Group A, 1st Panzer Army captures Maykop and 17th Army, Krasnodar in the Caucasus. The oil installations at Maykop have been demolished however. Soviet resistance, favored by the terrain, takes on a new strength in the foothills of the mountains.

The 24th and 16th Panzer Divisions meet behind the 62nd Army cutting off 8 divisions and elements of the 1st Tank Army. Fighting inside the pocket is intense as the 6th Army immediately begins the destruction of the encircled units. The 1st Guards Army throws 3 divisions into an attack to relieve the trapped force.

Air Operations, Aleutians

5 28th Composite Bomb Group B-17s and 3 B-24s attack Kiska. 1 B-24 is brought down by anti-aircraft fire. Only the pilot is rescued.

Air Operations, CBI

• 11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s attack Hankow, China, and 23rd Fighter Group P-40s bomb and strafe Japanese Army ammunition dumps and warehouses at Sienning, China.
• 23rd Fighter Group P-40s also bring down 3 Ki-27 'Nate' fighters near the airfield and Nanchang at 1330 hours.

Air Operations, Europe

There is a night raid on Colchester and East Anglia. A direct hit on a mental hospital causes heavy casualties.

• 3 Mosquitos to Germany, only 1 bombs at Cologne
• No losses

• 52 aircraft lay mines in Kiel Bay and off the Danish coast
• 1 Lancaster and 1 Stirling lost

Battle of the Atlantic

Wellington 'H' of No 311 Squadron sights U-578 on the surface and attacks. 3 depth charges are dropped on the first run. Turning around for a second pass the aircraft is fired on by the U-boad as it begins to dive. The depth charges then explode around the conning tower and stern. A large oil slick is then observed in the area where the U-boat had dived.

U-578

Eastern Front

Von Paulus' 6th Army reaches the outskirts of Stalingrad. Hoth's Panzers drive towards the city from the southwest. German forces also reach Pyatigorsk in the foothills of the Caucasus.

The Maikop oilfields fall to the 13th Panzer Division of the 1st Panzer Army, but the retreating Red Army sabotages the oil production installations. the 17th Army attacks Krasnodar, while the 1st Panzer is involved in heavy fighting near Stavropol.

The Soviet High Command order the North Caucasus Front to cover the approaches to the Black Sea, using Gen Boris Kamkov's 18th Army and the XVII Cavalry Corps to cover the mountain passes and Gen Andrei Grechko's 12th Army to defend the junction of the 18th and 56th Armies. Gen Grigorii Kotov's 47th Army is to protect Novorossysk.

India, Home Front

There are riots in Bombay and Delhi. Police fire on the crowds.

Air Operations, CBI

23rd Fighter Group P-40s attack the airfields at Nanchang and Yoyang, China.

Air Operations, Europe

• 154 aircraft to Mainz: 68 Wellingtons; 33 Lancasters; 28 Stirlings; 25 Halifaxes
• A lot of damage to the city center including the cathedral; 152 people killed
• 3 Wellingtons, 2 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster lost

• 16 aircraft to Le Havre, 9 Blenheim Intruders, 9 Hampdens lay mines in the Elbe and 3 Lancasters make leaflet flights
• 1 Halifax and 1 Lancaster lost on the Le Havre raid

Air Operations, Solomons

6 Rabaul-based A6M Zeros reconnoiter the Guadalcanal area and strafe the US Marines working on the captured runway.

Britain, Strategy

RAF Bomber Command establishes the Pathfinder Force to locate and illuminate bombing targets.

Eastern Front

The Soviet position at Kalach on the west bank of the Don falls to the Germans. As a result, the threat to Stalingrad increases. Stalingrad is imperiled as the Russian 4th Tank Army suffers heavy losses in the bend of the Don River near Kalach. German units begin crossing into Circassia as they drive toward the Grozny oil fields.

The Soviet forces trapped in the Don bend are destroyed, the 62nd Army losing 35,000 men killed and captured. Kalach falls to the 6th Army as its pincers again meet up behind the remnants of the 62nd Army. The Soviets are retreating across the river in force, destroying the Don bridges as they go.

There is a disagreement between Hitler and Halder. Halder still insists that priority should be given to the capture of Moscow, while Hitler's first objective is the Caucasian oilfields. Hitler is wrong: Germany will be able to wage war for two and a half more years without oil from the Caucasus. As the fighting around Stalingrad intensifies, however, Hitler becomes obsessed with the capture of the city, throwing more and more forces into the exposed salient that will jut out to the Volga.

Mediterranean

A large convoy of 14 merchant ships en route to Malta is sighted by Axis reconnaissance aircraft. The importance of Operation PEDESTAL is well shown by the massive escort provided for such a comparatively small convoy. Rear-Adm Sir E. Neville Syfret leads 2 battleships, 4 carriers, 7 cruisers, 32 destroyers and other smaller craft. As well as supplies from the convoy, more aircraft are flown to Malta from HMS Furious which then turns back to Gibraltar. The carrier HMS Eagle is sunk by U-73 with 160 crewmen killed. 927 survivors are picked up by the British destroyers Laforey and Lookout and the British rescue tug Jaunty. There is an air attack on the convoy in the evening but is unsuccessful.

British Carrier Eagle

HMS Eagle after the Torpedo Strike

Air Operations, Bismarcks

5th Air Force B-17s attack shipping at Rabaul.

Air Operations, Egypt

The 98th Heavy Bomb Group's 345th Heavy Bomb Squadron, in its combat debut, attacks Besa Matruh.

Air Operations, Europe

• 1 Mosquito attacks chemical factory in Wiesbaden, bombs fall short; returns safely

• 138 aircraft of 4 types follow up previous night's raid on Mainz
• More damage to city center and also in industrial areas; main railway station seriously damaged; number of people killed between 40 and 163. Reports from Bingen, 15 miles to the west of Mainz, say a 4,000lb bomb each hit in the villages of Kempten and Gaulsheim; 130 houses damaged in Kempten, 97 in Gaulsheim
• 2 Lancasters, 1 Hampden, 1 Stirling and 1 Wellington lost

Air Operations, Solomons

Vice-Adm Robert L. Ghormley's PBY amphibious patrol bomber lands on the incomplete but serviceable runway on Guadalcanal, the first Allied aircraft to do so. It evacuates several wounded Marines and a wounded VF-5 F4F pilot to Espiritu Santo, the first evacuation of wounded US servicemen from an active war zone.

Diplomatic Relations

The First Moscow Conference begins. The meeting will continue until August 15. Stalin, Churchill, Ambassador W. Averell Harriman, representing Roosevelt, and emissaries from Gen de Gaulle are in attendence. The main purpose is to discuss a common war strategy. Churchill, with the support of Ambassador Harriman, informs Stalin that it wlll be impossible for the British and Americans to open a second front in Europe in 1942, but he does reveal to Stalin the details of Operation TORCH. (see July 25, 1942.)

China

Japanese forces in central Shantung Province launch a massive new offensive against Chinese Nationalist troops. The Japanese are taking advantage of internecine warfare raging between Communist and Nationalist soldiers.

Eastern Front

Russian attacks in the Rzhev area reach their greatest intensity but still bring no clear result. In the southern sector advance troops of Army Group A reach Slavyansk in the Kuban area, just a short distance from the east coast of the Sea of Azov.

A sudden change in the weather saves the Germans at the neck of the Demyansk salient from being overrun. Lashing rain halts Soviet attacks as their air forces are grounded and the ground turns to swamp.

Slavyansk falls to the 17th Army. The fighting in the Kuban intensifies as the Coastal Group fights to prevent the Germans from reaching the Black Sea coast.

The German 11th Army receives orders from the OKH instructing the army headquarters, together with headquarters of the LIV and XXX Corps, to proceed to the Leningrad sector. Only 4 divisions are to remain with the 11th Army, the remainder being dispersed along the eastern front or hold in the Crimea.

Germany, Armed Forces

The 11th Army is broken up, the headquarters being ordered to the Leningrad area, 4 divisions remaining in the Crimea and the rest scattered along the Eastern Front.

Germany, Politics

Himmler is given responsibility for maintaining order in Denmark, Norway, Belgium and Holland.

The convoy and the covering forces of Operation PEDESTAL are attacked constantly throughout the day. One merchantman is sunk in the morning, and in the early evening, shortly before the main covering force withdraws on schedule, the carrier Indomitable is damaged and a destroyer is sunk. Later a cruiser and 2 freighters are sunk and 2 more cruisers, a transport and a vital tanker, the Ohio, are damaged.

On August 12, 1942, a relief convoy to Malta is subjected to constant attacks during the day. Operation PEDESTAL was a British operation to get desperately needed supplies to the island of Malta. The most crucial supply was fuel delivered by the SS Ohio, an American-built tanker (with a British crew). The operation started on August 9, 1942, when the convoy sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar. The arrival of the last ships of the convoy on August 15, 1942, coincided with the Feast of the Assumption (Santa Marija) and the convoy was named the Santa Marija Convoy.

Roughly fifty ships sailed through minefields, and came under attack by bombers, E-boats, and submarines.The operation cost of more than 400 lives, and only five of the original 14 merchant ships reaching the Grand Harbour. The SS Ohio made it to Malta but was so badly damaged that it sunk in Malta's Grand Harbor.

The Merchant Ship Weimarama Explodes.

Sinking of the Italian Submarine Cobolto

Air Operations, Asia

US planes bomb Formosa.

Air Operations, Europe

• 7 Bostons on shipping sweep off the Frisians, claim 1 ship sunk; 1 Mosquito bombs Essen
• No losses

• 36 aircraft lay mines of the German and Dutch coasts
• 1 Stirling lost

Air Operations, New Guinea

5th Air Force B-17s, 22nd Medium Bomb Group B-26s, and B-17s respectively, mount 3 separate attacks against a troop-laden Japanese convoy at sea near Gona.

Allied Command

3 weeks after the TORCH decision was made, Eisenhower is given a directive on his mission. In conjunction with Allied forces in the Middle East, he is to take control of North Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. The first two stages of Operation TORCH would be first to achieve and secure landings in French North Africa and then to take unchallenged control of Morocco, Algiers and Tunisia.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The US freighter Cripple Creek (6347t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-171 losing one of her crew. The survivors take to three lifeboats. The survivors are rescued by the British armed trawler HMS St Wistan on the 16th.
• The US freighter Delmundo (5032t), in Convoy TAW-12, is torpedoed and sunk by U-600 in the Windward passage with the loss of 5 of her crew and 3 passengers. The survivors are rescued by the British destroyer HMS Churchill.

Eastern Front

Troops from 4th Panzer Army advance southeast and take Elista, which is south of Stalingrad and southeast of Kotelnikovo.

The 6th Army clears the Don Elbow. The 1st Tank Army has been comprehensively defeated alongside the 62nd Army and is disbanded within a few weeks.

The 4th Panzer Army pushes its 16th Motorized Division out to the south, capturing Elitsa. The 16th Motorized protects the floating junction of Army Groups A and B and patrols a vast sector stretching from the Sarpa Lakes south of Stalingrad to the Kuma River in the Caucasus. Leading scouts of this division will push the farthest east of any Germans, coming to within 20 miles of Astrakhan. Only the lack of Soviet units prevent a deep penetration into the junction of the 2 army groups.

Mineralnye Vody falls to the 1st Panzer Army as it closes upon Grozny. Supplies are increasingly short as the line of communication stretch to the breaking point. The 13th Panzer Division is instructed to join with the 3rd and 23rd Panzer Divisions of the III Panzer Corps.

Gulf of Mexico

The US tanker R. M. Parker, Jr. (6779t), en route to Port Arthur, Texas, is torpedoed, shelled and sunk by U-171. There are no casualties and the Coast Guard auxiliary cutter Pioneer rescues all 37 of her crew and the 7-man Armed Guard.

India, Home Front

Anti-British rioting continues in India. Several factories involved in the production of military materiel are closed because of strikes.

Mediterranean

A powerful force of Italian cruisers and destroyers departs Naples to strike the battered Convoy PEDESTAL, but turns back when the promised close air cover fails to appear. The cruisers Bolzano and Muzio Attendolo are then torpedoed by the British submarine Unbroken, off Lipari Island.

Very early in the morning the cruiser HMS Manchester is badly damaged by Italian motor torpedo boats with the loss of 13 of her crew. 163 more of her crew are taken off by the British destroyer Pathfinder. The cruiser is later scuttled and more of the crew are rescued from rafts by the British destroyers Eskimo and Somali. A total of 13 officers and 308 men are rescued. The British destroyer Foresight is badly damaged by a torpedo from an Italian aircraft. An attempt to tow her by the British destroyer Tartar is fruitless and she is scuttled after her crew is taken off. 5 more freighters from the PEDASTAL convoy are sunk including Clan Ferguson, Waimarama and Glenorchy. Later another 2 are sunk but 4 more reach Malta and a fifth, the tanker Ohio, is towed into Valetta on August 15. Ohio carries vital fuel for the island's striking forces.

Melbourne Star Enters Grand Harbor	Port Chalmers Arrives at Malta

New Britain

The Japanese Imperial General Staff gives the 17th Army, stationed at Rabaul, the task of driving the Americans out of Guadalcanal and the other islands in the Solomons where they have landed. Gen Masao Maruyama begins the necessary preparations.

Air Operations, Egypt

6 57th Fighter Group P-40s make their unit's combat debut when they escort RAF light bombers in an attack against El Fuka Airdrome. In a brief melee with 5 Luftwaffe Bf-109s, 1 P-40 is downed off the coast, but the pilot is rescued and returned to duty.

Air Operations, Europe

• 1 Mosquito to Mannheim, but does not bomb

Air Operations, Iceland

Credit for the destruction of the first Luftwaffe warplaned downed by a USAAF fighter in the war is shared by a P-40 pilot with the Iceland Aire Command's 33rd Fighter Squadron and a P-38 pilot with the 1st Fighter Group's 27th Fighter Squadron which is en route to England. The victim is an FW-200 Condor recon-bomber which crashed in the sea 9 miles off Iceland.

Air Operations, Libya

• The 98th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the harbor at Tobruk and damage 1 ship.
• During the night, USAMEAF B-24s attack the harbor at Tobruk.

Air Operations, New Guinea

5th Air Force bombers attack Japanese ships near Gona.

Air Operations, Solomons

3 Rabaul-based G4M 'Betty' bombers photograph Guadalcanal's captured runway by circling about out of range of the island's 90mm antiaircraft guns.

Battle of the Atlantic

The unarmed US freighter California (5441t) is torpedoed, shelled and sunk by the Italian submarine Reginaldo Giuliani. All hands abandon ship.

Eastern Front

6th Army, under von Paulus, with support from Hoth's Panzer army, has almost completely cleared the Don Elbow of Russian resistance, but from the German point of view there are still too many potential forces.

Mediterranean

74 German and Italian aircraft, 2 submarines and an MTB make unsuccessful attacks on the British cruiser-destroyer escort force returning to Gibraltar from Operation PEDESTAL.

Brisbane Star Arrives at Malta

Air Operations, Europe

• 1 Mosquito to Mainz, but is lost

Damage to Mainz after the Recent Series of Raids

• 131 aircraft of 5 types to Düsseldorf
• Visibilty poor, bombing scattered. Ground reports only a light raid. A 4,000lb bomb hits in center of Neuss, causes a lot of blast damage to buildings, 1 person killed in Neuss
• 2 Lancaster, 1 Hampden and 1 Wellington lost

• 9 aircraft lay mines in the Frisians
• 1 Stirling lost

Air Operations, Solomons

Rabaul-based A6M Zeros reconnoiter Henderson Field on Guadalcanal and drop food parcels to troops hiding in the bush near the Marine Corps' Lunga Perimeter.

Battle of the Atlantic

The US freighter Balladier, in Convoy SC-95, is torpedoed and sunk by U-705 about 550 miles southeast of Iceland. In the attack 11 of the 34-man crew are lost as are 2 of the 11-man Armed Guard. The survivors are rescued by the merchantman Norluna.

Britain, Command

The Pathfinder Force is established within the RAF Bomber Command under Air Commodore Don Bennett. To increase the potency of their bombing missions, the RAF assemble this team of their finest aircrews to lead the main bomber formations and mark the target with flares dropped in a complex pattern. This not only increases accuracy but cuts the time needed for deployment over the target by 50 per cent.

Eastern Front

The Germans make further gains in the foothills of the Caucasus, especially around Georgivesk. The German 6th and 4th Panzer Armies open their major offensive toward Stalingrad.

A new offensive by the German 6th Army shatters the Soviet 1st Guards and 4th Tank Army in the Don Elbow and also hits the flank of the 62nd Army at Perepolnyi. Red Army units continue to stream back across the Don. The city of Stalingrad is becoming the focus of the campaign as each side reinforces its armies in the battle for the city. On the Soviet side the Stalingrad Front has the 1st Guards, 4th Tank, 21st, 24th, 63rd and 66th Armies - 414,000 troops, 200 tanks and 200 artillery pieces. The Southeastern Front has the 51st, 57th, 62nd and 64th Armies - 160,000 troops, 70 tanks and 1,400 artillery pieces. On the German side the 6th Army under Gen Friedrich von Paulus numbers 430,000 troops, 440 tanks and 5,300 artillery pieces, and Gen Hermann 'Papa' Hoth's 4th Panzer Army musters 158,000 troops and 2,100 artillery pieces.[MORE]

Guadalcanal

The Marines are busy preparing the airstrip and consolidating their perimeter around it. Rations are cut. The Americans receive their first supplies since landing. The destroyer transports Colhoun (APD-2), Gregory (APD-3), Little (APD-4) and McKean (APD-5) bring in aviation gas, bombs and ammunition. Among the passengers landing are Maj Charles H. Hayes, who will be the operationns officer for the airfield and Ens George W. Polk and 120 aircraft mechanics who were to service the planes that are expected.

Air Operations, Egypt

During the evening, B-25s of the 12th Medium Bomb Group's 81st Medium Bomb Squadron make their unit's combat debut and USAMEAF's first bombing mission in direct support of the British 8th Army, attacking an Axis depot and tank-repair facility at Matruh.

Air Operations, Europe

• 1 Mosquito bombs Vegesack and returns safely.

• 56 aircraft lay mines in the Frisians.
• 2 Lancasters are lost.

Air Operations, North Africa

The USAAF makes its first attack on German positions in Egypt.

Arctic

In Operation WUNDERLAND, which will last about 2 weeks, the Admiral Scheer penetrates into Kara Sea to attack Russian shipping.

Eastern Front

The Russians evacuate Maykop.

After 2 weeks of bitter fighting in the Rzhev region, the 20th, 31st, 29th and 30th Armies have made only minor gains in the salient, but have inflicted over 20,000 casualties upon the 9th Army. Army Group Center requests permission to evacuate the salient to shorten the line and create an operational reserve but Hitler categorically refuses.

The Germans conquer the Kuban, inflicting heavy losses upon the North Caucasus Front. The divergent axes of the German advance in the Caucasus has stretched Army Group A to the breaking point, Groups Rouff (Gen Richard) and Kleist operating as two widely separated forces. With the fall of the Kuban, Army Group A begins to regroup to undertake the second phase of its offensive. The 1st Panzer Army is to push east from Voroshilovsk toward Grozny, Makhatchkala and Baku, securing the Caucasus and cutting off the Soviet forces against the Turkish border. Group Ruoff is to attack from Krasnodar, take Novorossiysk and roll up the Soviet defenses on the Black Sea coast and reach the Turkish border near Batumi. The high mountain ranges separating the 2 German axes are to be conquered by the XLIX Mountain Corps, attacking from Cherkessk. In an effort to strengthen his defenses in the mountains, Gen Ivan Tyulenev raises Gen Vasily Sergatskov's 46th Army and moves it north to block the German advance.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

1 5th Air Force B-17 attacks Kavieng, New Ireland.

Air Operations, CBI

2 23rd Fighter Group P-40s shoot down a Japanese twin-engine plane over Tienho airfield, Canton at 1040 hours.

Air Operations, Europe

Rouen is the target for the first all-American bombing raid over Europe. 12 B-17s of the 8th Air Force, led by Brig-Gen Ira C. Eaker, attack the marshalling yards. They are escorted by 4 Spitfire squadrons.

Preparing for First US Bombing Raid

Between now and the end of 1942 the US 8th Air Force will fly 1547 sorties and lose 32 aircraft. This loss is less than 2 percent, but all the raids have British fighter escort and none penetrates Germany. The buildup of the 8th Air Force is badly delayed by the transfer of many aircraft to north Africa after Operation TORCH in November. Thus there is no real test for the theories of the American airmen that their aircraft can bomb unescorted and with great accuracy. It will emerge even in the few operations that are undertaken this year that the much vaunted Norden bombsight, although excellent in good training conditions, is less impressive in the overcast skies of Europe.

• 1 Mosquito bombs in the Kiel area and returns safely.

• 139 aircraft of 5 types to Osnabrück.
• 111 crews report accurate bombing; reports from the ground indicate bombs dropped mostly on the north and northwestern parts of the city; 77 houses and 4 military buildings destroyed, 125 other buildings seriously damaged including the main hospital, the paper mill and a copper wire factory; 7 people are killed, 15 injured.
• 3 Wellingtons, 1 Lancaster and 1 Stirling lost

• 8 Blenheims make Intruder flights to airfields at Leeuwarden, Rheine, Twente and Vechta, the last of such in Bomber Command for the Blenheims; 4 aircraft lay mines in the Frisians and off Texel and Verdon
• No losses

In the first raid over western Europe undertaken by USAAF heavy bombers, a single mixed squadron of 12 B-17s from the 97th Heavy Bomb Group, escorted by RAF spitfire fighters, attack the Sotteville railroad marshalling yard at Rouen, France, with more than 18 tons of bombs.

Air Operations, New Guinea

24 Japanese Navy bombers attach the Seven Mile Airfield at Port Moresby and destroy 3 22nd Medium Bomb Group B-26s and a transport on the ground.

Battle of the Atlantic

The US tanker Louisiana (8587t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-108 about 200 miles from Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana. There are no survivors from the 41-man crew and 8-man Armed Guard.

Eastern Front

The Germans establish a bridgehead over the Kuban River and capture the thermal stations of Pyatigorsk, Yessentuki and Kislodovsk in the Caucasus. Units of the German 1st and 4th Mountain Divs get ready to climb the Elburs, the highest peak in the Caucasus, over 18,000 feet. This is more an athletic than a military undertaking because, due to the nature of the terrain, the Russians will always have an advantage over the attacking forces.

After heavy losses, the 1st Tank Army is disbanded, its skeletal divisions being incorporated into the 62nd Army. The Soviets attempt to rebuild their broken units, reinforcing the 62nd, 1st Guards, 21st, 63rd and 4th Tank Armies.

With the Soviet forces in disarray, the 6th Army captures bridgeheads over the Don at Vertyachi and Luchinshkoy with the 76th and 295th Infantry Divisions. The 62nd and 4th Tank Armies launch repeated counterattacks in an effort to destroy the bridgehead but fails.

Army Group A resumes its attacks, Yessentuki, Kislovodsk and Pyatigorsk falling to Group Kleist.

Troop Transport Princess Marguerite Sinks

Air Operations, Bismarcks

1 5th Air Force B-17 attacks Kavieng, New Britain.

Air Operations, Europe

• 1 Mosquito bombs Hamburg which reports 2 people killed, 32 injured and 31 bombed out

• 118 aircraft including 31 Pathfinders to Flensburg
• Should have been easy target for Pathfinders, but winds encountered not as forecasted and bomber force drifts north; 16 Pathfinder crews claim to have marked the target area correctly and 78 of the main force say they bombed the target area; No hits reported in Flensburg but the Danish towns of Sonderborg and Albenra and a large area of Denmark up to 25 miles north of Flensburg report hits; 26 houses destroyed, 660 damaged; 4 people injured
• 2 Wellingtons, 1 Halifax and 1 Stirling lost

• 9 Wellingtons lay mines in the Frisians
• No losses

Air Operations, Solomons

8 Rabaul-based G4M 'Betty' bombers bomb Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. 5 of the bombers are damaged by Marine Corps antiaircraft fire.

Caribbean

• Convoy TAW-13, traveling south of Cuba, comes under attack by U-553 which torpedoes and sinks the Swedish merchantman Blankholm (2845t) and the British freighter Empire Bede (6959t). The US freighter John Hancock is also torpedoed and sunk by U-553. All the crew of 38 and the 11-man Armed Guard survive the attack and are rescued by the British corvette HMS Pimpernel.
• The unarmed US freighter West Celina, in Convoy TAW(S), is torpedoed by U-162 off Grenada.

Eastern Front

Because partisan activity has been so intense, Hitler issues a directive ordering harsh measures and giving more power to SS Special Units.

The 1st Guards Army crosses the Don with 5 divisions and establishes a bridgehead at Kremenskaya, brushing aside the Italian 8th Army with ease.

In the Caucasus the Germans open the battle for the mountain passes, Gen Rudolf Konrad's XLIX Mountain Corps striking the 46th Army. Gen Ivan Maslennikov's Northern Group comes under heavy attack along the Kuma River, the Germans forcing the Soviets away from the river line as they push toward Mozdok. The retreat to Terek begins.

Air Operations, Europe

The P-51 Mustang fighter, which is to play such a decisive role in the war, makes its debut in combat over Dieppe. An RAF Mustang is credited with downing a German fighter in this initial foray.

• 62 Bostons carry out smoke-laying and bomb sorties in support of the Canadian landing at Dieppe
• 3 Bostons lost

Flight of Bostons over the French Countryside

A Boston Bombing Defending Forces

Overall View of the Attack on Dieppe

• 1 Mosquito sent to Bremen, does not return

Air Operations, Solomons

5th Air Force B-17s attack Japanese shipping at Faisi in the Shortland Islands.

Caribbean

U-162, continuing to stalk Convoy TAW(S), again torpedoes the unarmed US freighter West Celina (5722t). The ship is abandoned by her 39-man crew. U-564 also attacks the convoy torpedoing and sinking two British ships, the tanker British Consul (6940t) and the freigher Empire Cloud (5969t).

Eastern Front

While the Germans advance on a wide front in the Don basin, a Russian counterattack opens a gap between the Italian army and the German 6th Army. Gen Friedrich von Paulus, commander of the German 6th Army, orders his forces to take Stalingrad despite their great losses. Russian troops evacuate Krasnodar.

In the northern sector, from this day until the end of September, the Russians in the Leningrad and Volkhov sector launch a series of attacks to try to cut the corridor between Tosno, south of Leningrad, and Lake Ladoga, in order to relieve Leningrad, but are repulsed by the German 18th Army.

The Soviet Neva Group and the 13th Air Army of the Leningrad Front, together with the reformed 2nd Shock, 8th and 14th Air Armies of the Volkhov Front mount the Sinyavino Offensive Operation. Some 190,000 men are committed to the attack.

There is a major raid, Operation JUBILEE, by Canadian and British troops on Dieppe. The troops involved are the 2nd Canadian Div, under Maj-Gen John H. Roberts, and Nos 3 and 4 Commando with a handful of Americans and Free French- about 6,100 men total. The raid is designed to provide battle experience for the troops and to gain information about German defense methods which might be useful in the future. A secondary aim of the operation is to force the Luftwaffe in the West into a decisive battle and destroy its 500 bombers and fighters. It is only partially successful. 60 RAF fighter squadrons claim 91 destroyed and 44 probably destroyed, but the Germans admit only 48 destroyed and 24 damaged. At 3:00am the ships carrying the landing party arrive about 8 miles off Dieppe without being spotted. At 3:30am the LSIs (Landing Ships Infantry) used for transporting the infantry launch the landing craft. Almost at once things begin to go wrong. The flotilla of landing craft with the Royal Regiment of Canada ends up a long way from the prescribed route and so is unable to be at the right sector of the beach at the right time. Then at 3:47am the gunboat leading the way for No 3 Commando runs into a group of armed German trawlers. A fierce exchange of fire takes place and the British craft gets the worst of it. The 20 landing craft carrying No 3 Commando have to scatter for safety.

When the Canadians manage to reach the areas allotted to them they are pinned down on the narrow beach by a murderous, accurate fire. 27 light tanks are landed from special Royal Navy craft, but are destroyed as soon as they come on shore, and the attackers are blown to pieces.

By 9:00am it is determined that the attack has clearly failed and the troops are ordered to re-embark at once. Almost none of the installations marked for destruction is reached and only a small portion of the landing force can be evacuated. The casualty list is long: 3,600 men, 106 aircraft, a British destroyer, the Berkeley with the loss of 15 of her crew, 30 tanks, and 33 landing craft. The Germans lose about 600 men and about 50 planes. The lessons of the operation, however bitter, are very important both on the general points of how difficult it is to capture a defended port, or how important is a preliminary bombardment, to the more detailed lessons relating to equipment for beach landings. Hitler comments: 'This is the first time the British have had the courtesy to cross the sea to offer the enemy a complete sample of their new weapons.'

At 4:00pm in Dieppe there is no sign of the morning's encounter on the beach. Life is quite normal and all the shops are open.

On the way to Dieppe

On the Beach of Dieppe, British Landing Vessels

Air Operations, Europe

• Squadron Leader Stephen Horthy, Vice-Regent of Hungary, is killed in action over the southern Russian Front. He was 38.

• 57 aircraft lay mines at many locations from Brest to Danzig; 5 Halifaxes on leaflet flights over France
• 3 Stirlings and 3 Wellingtons lost on mine-laying ops

• 11 97th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s, in a late afternoon mission, attack a marshalling yard at Amiens.
• No casualties or damage result from the raid.

Battle of the Atlantic

Naval land-based aircraft (VP-73) sink U-464 in the North Atlantic.

U-464

Eastern Front

The German advance southeast of Stalingrad is slowed by the Aksai and Myshkova Rivers.

The Soviets launch a new attack from the Kremensk bridgehead in an effort to pin the flank of the 6th Army and prevent the transfer of troops for the assault upon Stalingrad. Gen Italo Garibaldi's 8th Italian Army has deployed here, releasing German forces. The Soviet attack succeeds in forcing the Italians back but fail to prevent the 6th Army offensive. The 4th Panzer Army begins its attack from Abganerovo with Gen Werner Kempf's XLVIII Panzer Corps. Committing the 24th and 14th Panzer and 29th Motorized Divisions, the Germans run into strong Soviet defenses, many tanks being lost in minefields at Tundutovo. The 3 infantry divisions of Gen Viktor von Schwedler's IV Corps (94th, 371st, 297th) are also bogged down in heavy fighting with the 64th Army and fail to push away from their start lines, being strung out on a line from Tinguta to Abganerovo.

With heavy fighting at the gates of Stalingrad, in the Caucasus the 17th Army presses closer to Novorossysk, Krymsk falls after a bitter struggle as the Soviet defenses crumble.

Canberra Survivors Arriving in Sydney

Air Operations, Europe

• 1 Mosquito bombs Chocques power stations, returns safely

• 12 97th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s, while on their way to bomb shipping at Rotterdam, arrive late for their rendezvous with RAF fighters. Due to lack of fuel, the fighters must return to their base leaving the bombers without escort. After the fighters turn for home, the bombers are attacked by 20-25 Luftwaffe fighters, of which 2 are claimed by bomber gunners.
• 1 B-17 is damaged, 5 crewmen are wounded and 1 killed - VIII Bomber Command's first combat casualty of the war.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

• USAMEAF B-24s attack an Axis convoy southwest of Crete and claim 2 ships probably sunk.
• Luftwaffe Bf-110 fighters force a straggling B-24 to crash-land at sea, all aboard are declared missing.

Air Operations, Solomons

Several VMF-223 F4Fs strafe fleeing Japanese troops who had taken part in night-long attacks against Guadalcanal's Lunga Perimeter. In their first defensive action 4 VMF-223 F4Fs attempt to intercept Rabaul-based bombers attacking Henderson Field, but are deterred by their A6M Zero escorts. 3 Zeros are shot down to the loss of 1 F4F.

Eastern Front

Army Group A penetrates almost as far as Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. Krymsk is captured on the north coast of the Black Sea not far from Novorossiysk. German troops plant the Swastika flag on Mt Elbruz in the Caucasus. Troops from Army Group B cross the Don near Kletskaya.

Bitter fighting continues around Abganerovo and Tinguta as the Germans repeat their unsuccessful attacks.

USS Hornet and USS Atlanta Heading to Guadalcanal

Map of the Battle of the Tenaru

Guadalcanal

Ichiki's force makes a series of wild attacks across the Tenaru River. At 0130 the Japanese launch their first attack in an attempt to seize the west bank of the Ilu. 200 Japanese come storming up to the trip wire with bayonets fixed, hurling grenades ahead of them and officers swinging their long Samurai swords. The marines turn rifles and machine guns on them and the Japanese begin to fall. Some of the Japanese go over, around and through the wire, but the Marines hold their ground. The Japanese remaining east of the Ilu are surrounded and destroyed in concerted attacks by the 2nd and 1st Battalions of the 1st Marines. The 1st Battalion crosses the river upstream and attacks the enemy from the rear while the 2nd, with the light tank platoon spearheading, attacks at the mouth of the river.

The 1st Battalion squeezes the Japanese into a coconut grove on the shore of the island. There are charges and countercharges but the marines do not break through. The majority of the Japanese die in the palm grove. Col Ichiki and several of his officers commit suicide. The Ichiki force of nearly 1,000 men have lasted just 3 days on Guadalcanal. Only 15 prisoners are taken. The marines lose 35 killed and 75 wounded.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

5th Air Force B-17s attack the airfields in the Rabaul area.

Air Operations, Egypt

• 12th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the German Army tank repair shops and depots at Matruh.
• 1 B-25 is mistakenly downed by an RAF fighter pilot.

Air Operations, Europe

• 3 Halifaxes drop leaflets over Paris, no losses

Air Operations, New Guinea

5th Air Force B-17 attack the airfield at Lae.

Atlantic

The US destroyer Ingraham (DD-444) is sunk in collision with the oiler Chemung (AO-30) off Nova Scotia. The Chemung sustains damage. In another collision the US destroyer Buck (DD-420) is damaged by the British transport Awatea.

Britain, Home Front

Sir A. Sinclair, Secretary of State for Air, speaks at Swansea about the work of RAF Bomber Command: 'as the Germans gaze at their homes they should remember all the cities destroyed by Hitler's bombers and thank the Führer.'

Caribbean

North of Panama, US Army aircraft sink U-654.

Diplomatic Relations

Brazil declares war on Italy and Germany. The loss of 5 of its ships triggers the action. Brazil's entry into the war facilitates Allied air transport, opening up the safer and shorter South Atlantic by way of Ascension Island.

Eastern Front

Panzers make a narrow breach in the Russian line at Veryachi, north of Stalingrad. German paratroopers land behind Russian lines near Stalingrad and are badly mauled.

The 64th Army stalls both the XLVIII Panzer and IV Corps southwest of Stalingrad.

The German 12th Panzer Division

Hitler's continual interference and redirection of forces had impacted heavily upon the course of the offensive to the Don. Wasted time and lost opportunities meant the Red Army had evaded destruction in the fashion of 1941. Despite this, Hitler jumped to the conclusion that a lack of prisoners meant a lack of enemy forces. Nothing could be further from the truth. Truly the Soviet conduct of the campaign had been appalling. Hitler's own meddling having been their saving grace, but the field armies were still largely intack, if demoralized. Stalin though had changed everything with his 'Not one more step back' order. No longer would the Red Army retreat. Soviet space was no longer limitless. Germany had reached the peak of its success.

With Paulus poised on the Don, ready to strike eat to the Volga and Kleist forcing his way deeper into the Caucasus, the German armies on the southern wing found themselves advancing on broadly separate axes. Hitler's diecition to alter his olw plan to achieve both to the campaign objectives simultaneously would fundamentally alter the outcome of the 1942 summer offensive. The Ostheer would find itslelf fighting a battle it was entirely unsuited for in the city on the banks of the Volga River.

Guadalcanal

The first US Army planes, 5 P-400s of the 67th Fighter Squadron led by Capt Dale Brannon, arrive for duty at Henderson Field, flying in from New Hebrides. The P-400 is an advanced version of the P-39. Ships bringing supplies are thus afforded greater protection, but shipments remain small. A battalion of US Marines arrives from Tulagi to reinforce the garrison at Lunga.

The Japanese send surface bombers escorted by Zeros to attack Guadalcanal. Another Zero is shot down but several F4Fs are also lost.

New Guinea

The Japanese forces, 11,000 men commanded by Gen Tomitaro Horii, prepare for the offensive. They will be opposed by an equal number of Australian, American, British and native troops. Australian Maj-Gen Cyril A. Clowes takes over command of the Milne force which consists of 8,133 Australians and 1,365 Americans.

Pacific

• The American destroyer Blue (DD-387) is damaged by a torpedo from a surface vessel in the Solomon Islands area. It is scuttled by US forces the next day.
• The US submarine Haddock (SS-231) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese transport Tatsuho Maru (4000t) off the China coast near Foochow.
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Solomons

More Marines from the New Hebrides arrive at Tulagi.

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United States, Home Front

Michael Fokine, a Russian coreographer and ballet master dies in New York at the age of 61.

Air Operations, Australia

49th Fighter Group P-40s down 7 Japanese Navy bombers and 8 A6M Zeros in the Darwin area between 1205 and 1245 hours.

Air Operations, Europe

Stalingrad is hit in an all night raid made by 600 bombers, Stukas and Ju-52 bomber/transports. Many crews make up to 3 sorties. Incendiaries start vast conflagrations. About 40,000 people are killed and thousands more flee across the Volga to shelter in caves and sewers.

• 6 Wellingtons to Bremen on cloud-cover raids, only 2 bomb at Emden; 1 Mosquito to Flensburg
• No losses

Air Operations, Libya

Just before dusk, USAMEAF B-24s attack the harbor at Tobruk.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 1 5th Air Force B-17 attacks Buka Island.
• A VMF-223 F4F shoots down a G4M 'Betty' bomber over Guadalcanal during a noon-hour attack.

Battle of the Eastern Solomons

Both the Japanese and the Americans send major warships to cover attempts to ferry supplies to Guadalcanal. The main American squadron, Task Force 61, under the command of Adm Frank J. Fletcher, consists of the carriers Saratoga (CV-3), Enterprise (CV-6) and Wasp (CV-7) with a total of 254 aircraft. In support of the carriers are the battleship North Carolina (BB-55), 5 heavy cruisers: Minneapolis (CA-36), New Orleans (CA-32), Portland (CA-33), San Francisco (CA-38) and Salt Lake City (CA-25), 2 light cruisers: Atlanta (CL-51) and San Juan (CL-54), and 18 destroyers.

The Japanese are operating characteristically in several separate groups. Adm Nagumo has the carriers Zuikaku and Shokaku, and Adm Hara has the smaller Ryujo. In support the Japanese have 3 battleships: Mutsu, Hiei and Kirishima, 13 heavy cruisers: Ataqa, Maya, Takao, Myoko, Aguro, Suzuya, Kumano, Chikuma, Tone, Chokai, Aoba, Kinugasa and Furutaka, 3 light cruisers, 1 seaplane transporter, 31 destroyers and 12 submarines. One squadron is escorting 4 transport ships with reinforcements for Guadalcanal. Fletcher sends off a strike but it fails to find any targets. Both forces are now alert for the next day's fight.

Eastern Front

Army Group B breaks through north of Stalingrad and reaches the Volga on a five-mile front between Rynak and Erzovka. The Soviets continue to resist. 600 Luftwaffe bombers attack Stalingrad, killing 40,000 and destroying three-fourths of the great industrial city. The Russians do not panic and the salient is 'stabilized'. To avoid encirclement, most of the Russians fall back on the city. At Izbushensky, in the great bend of the Don, 600 men of the Italian 'Savoy Cavalry' under the comand of Col Alessandro Bettoni charge against 2,000 Russians armed with mortars and maching-guns in a last desperate attempt to close a breach opened by the Russians between the German 6th Army and the Italian army. The Italians, in the last cavalry charge in history, put the enemy to flight. Sabers and hand-greanades against mortars and machine-guns - the victory is important locally, but the price is very high.

Bombing of Stalingrad Begins

Air Operations, Bismarcks

5th Air Force B-17s attack Rabaul and Gasmata, New Britain.

Air Operations, Europe

• 226 aircraft to Frankfurt: 104 Wellingtons; 61 Lancasters; 53 Stirlings; 8 Halifaxes
• Second Pathfinder-led raid, again difficulty locating target area in cloudy conditions; most bombs fall in open country north and west of the city; reports from the ground say 17 large and 53 small fires started; 5 people killed, 95 injured; outlying villages of Schwalbach and Eschborn heavily bombed
• 3 Lancaster assigned specific targets in Bingen, Mayen and Bad Kreuznach on the approach route of main bombing force; Bad Kreuznach believed to be headquarters of German Western Army; a 4,000lb pound damages 225 houses in Bingen; the 3 planes return safely
• 6 Lancasters, 5 Wellingtons, 4 Stirlings and 1 Halifax lost on main raid

• 6 Wellingtons lay mines in the Frisians
• No losses

12 97th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack the shipyard at Le Trait in the afternoon. There is no enemy response.

Air Operations, Libya

USAMEAF B-24s attack the harbor at Tobruk.

Air Operations, New Guinea

A 5th Air Force B-17 locates a Japanese Navy invasion convoy bound for Milne Bay. 5th Air Force B-17s based at Mareeba Airfield, Australia are unable to attack because of bad weather. An RAAF Hudson bomber and 23 RAAF P-40s based at Milne Bay sink 1 ship and damage others.

Air Operations, North Africa

A stripped-down Spitfire destroys a Ju-86R high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft over the Suez Canal.

Air Operations, Solomons

VMF-223 F4Fs challenge an unreported strike force composed of 6 B5N 'Kate' bombers and 15 A6M Zeros from the Japanese carrier Ryujo. Although the Marine pilots claim 20 victories, 4 'Kates' and 3 Zeros are shot down, one of the latter of which is shot down by a pair of 67th Figher Squadron P-400s. The Japanese claim major ground damage, their efforts are largely fruitless.

Battle of the Eastern Solomons

In an effort to reinforce units on Guadalcanal a Japanese force is intercepted by US Task Force 61, commanded by Vice-Adm Jack Fletcher. In the morning American scout planes sight Ryujo and a strike is dispatched. While it is on its way Shokaku and Zuikaku are also sighted and Fletcher tries to redirect his attack. Only a few of his planes receive this message and most carry on to sink Ryujo. Shortly after this strikes from Nagumo's carriers find the Enterprise (CV-6) and although she is damaged, aircraft can still be landed on.

At the end of the day both carrier groups retire without attempting to achieve a decisive result. The Japanese lose 90 aircraft against 20 by the Americans. The Japanese lose the carrier Ryujo which was hit by bombs and torpedoes, the light cruiser Jintsu, 1 destroyer and 1 troop transport with the loss of many lives. On the American side the battleship North Carolina (BB-55) is damaged and the carrier Enterprise (CV-6) receives damage from dive-bombers. The Japanese failed in their mission, but, more importantly, the battle again demonstrated to Tokyo that Guadalcanal can not be easily defended.[MORE]

US Carrier Enterprise Under Air Attack

Bomb Hit on Flight Deck of Enterprise

Eastern Front

In the siege of Leningrad, the Red Army attempts to raise the siege by Operation SINYAVINO. Troops of the Volkhov Front push west to the outskirts of Sinyavino, but are unable to link up with Leningrad Front forces attempting to extend the Neva bridgeheads.

Air Operations, Europe

• 4 Mosquitos to Hannover, Braunweiler and Cologne
• 3 aircraft bomb, results unknown
• 1 aircraft lost

Air Operations, Greece

USAMEAF B-24s attack the Corinth Canal.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

12th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Axis shipping at sea and Axis landing grounds.

Air Operations, New Guinea

5th Air Force P-40s destroy 7 Japanese Navy landing barges beached at Goodenough Island in the D'Entrecasteaux Islands stranding a Japanese Army landing force and thwarting an invasion attempt against the Allied base at Milne Bay. In another operation, 5th Air Force B-17s, based in Australia, supported by RAAF P-40s, attack a Japanese convoy bound for Milne Bay from New Ireland and damage 1 transport. Bad weather keeps the air attack from turning back the convoy, and 1,200 Japanese Army troops are put ashore at 3 different locations near Rabi, New Guinea.

Air Operations, Solomons

In action between 0230 anf 0400 hours, 3 VSMB-232 SBDs and 3 Flight 300 SBDs attempt to locate and attack Japanese Navy transports north of Guadalcanal. The Marines fail to find targets and the Navy pilots miss Japanese warships they do find near Savo Island.

2 VMF-223 F4Fs down a Japanese Navy four-engine reconnaissance bomber near Malaita Island during a morning patrol and 2 VMSB-232 gunners each down a Japanese Navy reconnaissance float plane off Guadalcanal, also during morning patrols.

About 1015 hours, 8 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s based at Espiritu Santo attack the sinking transport Kinryu Maru (9310t) and the rescue destroyer Mutsuki. As many as 5 direct hits sink the destroyer. Late in the day, B-17s attack the bomb-damaged Japanese seaplane carrier Chitose and her escorts, but no hits are recorded.

Battle of the Eastern Solomons

US army and navy bombers attack the Japanese transports carrying reinforcements to Guadalcanal and force them to turn back. 2 are damaged and a destroyer is sunk by American aircraft. The Japanese now recognize the difficulty of daylight operations because of Henderson Field's aircraft, and for the moment, revert to using fast destroyers to bring in supplies during the night.

Eastern Front

There is heavy fighting along the Terek River in the Caucasus particularly around Mozdok as the Germans repulse a Russian counterattack. The Germans now head for Grozny and Baku in the Crimea.

The Stalingrad Communist Party Committee proclaims a state of siege: 'We shall never surrender the city of our birth; every house of every street is to be transformed into an impregnable fortress.'[MORE]

Germans on the Bank of the Volga

Britain, Home Front

HRH The Duke of Kent, younger brother of King George VI, a serving officer in the RAF, is killed in a plane crash near Wick in the north of Scotland. He had waived his honorary rank of RAF marshal and was an air commodore serving as chief welfare officer of the RAF Home Command. He was en route from England to Iceland in bad weather. The rear gunner of the Sunderland flying boat is the only survivor.

Air Operations, CBI

11th Medium Bomb Group B-25s, based temporarily at Yunnani, China, attack the communications center at Lashio, Burma.

Air Operations, Europe

Soviet aircraft raid Berlin and other German cities.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• 12 8th Fighter Group's 80th Fighter Squadron P-400s strafe aircraft on the ground at the airfield in Buna and down 6 A6M Zeros at 0725 hours.
• 5th Air Force B-17s, B-25s, B-26s and P-400s and RAAF Hudson bomber and P-40s based at Milne Bay and Australia attack a Japanese Army ground force fighting west toward Milne Bay from Rabi. Supplies on shore are destroyed and 1 transport is sunk.

Air Operations, Solomons

During the noon hour 12 VMF-223 F4Fs intercept 16 G4M 'Betty' bombers withdrawing after an attack on Henderson Field, Guadalcanal. The Marine pilots claim 13 victories, but only 3 bombers fail to return to Rabaul. Damage on the ground includes aviation fuel lost and splinter damage to several parked aircraft. 1 F4F with it pilot is lost in the action.

Britain, Home Front

The government lifts the ban on the publication of the Daily Worker, a Communist Party newspaper.

Eastern Front

The Russians announce that a successful offensive on the Moscow front began two weeks ago. Their claim of a 15- or 20-mile penetration on a 75-mile front is exaggerated however.

The Battle of Stalingrad intensifies with an estimated million German troops attacking Russian defenders. The Red Army attempts to ease the pressures on Stalingrad by launching diversionary attacks in the areas of Rzhev and Vyazma.

Heavy fighting rages as the 16th Panzer Division fights on the bank of the Volga. The 6th Army is fully committed to the battle for Stalingrad but only manages a slow advance, pushing the Soviet forces closer to the city. The advance actually forces the Soviets out of the danger of encirclement, the Soviet pocket to the west and southwest of the city being flattened by Paulus' uninspired frontal assaults. Hoth's failed attack at Tundutovo compounds the German failure to isolate the Soviets west of the city. With the defense of Stalingrad a priority, Stalin appoints Gen Zhukov as his deputy.

India

A training center for Chinese troops is opened at Ramgarh, India.

Pacific

• The Japanese occupy Ocean Island, west of the Gilbert Islands.
• The Japanese merchant cargo ship Teishun Maru (2251t) is sunk by the US submarine Haddock (SS-231) off the China coast about 100 miles north-northwest of Keelung, Formosa.
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Air Operations, Europe

• There is a night raid on Helsinki by 60 Russian bombers.
• US B-17s bomb the harbor facilites at Rotterdam.

• 12 Bostons bomb Abbeville airfield; 4 Mosquitos to Holland and Germany
• Bremen reports Mosquito dropping 3 bombs scoring a direct on the Vulkan shipyard foundry stopping production for several days
• 1 Boston and 1 Mosquito lost

• 306 aircraft of 5 types to Kassel
• With little cloud cover, Pathfinders light up the area well; there is widespread damage especially in the southwest part of the city; reports from the ground: 144 buildings destroyed, 317 with serious damage, several military installagions are hit along with 3 factories of the Henschel aircraft company, 43 people killed and 251 injured
• 21 Wellingtons, 5 Stirlings, 3 Lancasters, 1 Halifax and 1 Hampden are lost

• 9 Lancasters on special operation go Gdynia
• Each aircraft is equipped with a 'Capital Ship' bomb, developed to sink a large warship if a direct hit could occur; target is new aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin; 7 planes reach Gdynia but cannot locate target because of haze and bomb harbor area instead
• No planes lost

• 4 aircraft on leaflet flights to France
• No losses

• 7 97th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack a shipyard at Rotterdam.
• 3 B-17s are damaged by enemy fire, 1 crewman is wounded.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

USAMEAF B-24s attack an Axis convoy at sea and leave 1 ship sinking.

Air Operations, New Guinea

22nd Medium Bomb Group B-26s and 5th Air Force P-400s attack the airfield at Buna. In another operation, 5th Air Force P-40s strafe the Japanese Army beachhead and fuel dumps at Milne Bay.

Aleutians

Units of the Japanese force on Attu begin to be evacuated to Kiska.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-165 attacks Convoy SG-6 off Belle Isle Strait torpedoing the US oiler Laramie (AO-16) (7251t) killing 4 of the crew. The German submarine also torpedoes the US freigher Arlyn (3304t) killing 12 of her crew.
• The Convoy SF-6F is attacked by U-517 also off Belle Isle Strait. The US Army transport Chatham (5649t) is torpedoed by U-517 losing 7 of her 106-man crew and well as 7 of her 428 passengers. Most of the survivor make it shore in a dozen life boats. Those who embarked in rafts are rescued by the US destroyer Bernadou (DD-153), the Coast Guard cutter Mojave (WPG-47) and the Canadian corvette HMCS Trail.

Eastern Front

With heavy fighting continuing around Stalingrad the Soviet perimeter is gradually drawing in. In the far south the Germans of Army Group A approach Grozny, cross the Terek River and establish a bridgehead and capture Prochladrii.

The Soviet Volkhov Front begins an offensive designed to relieve Leningrad, the 2nd Shock Army hitting the German 18th Army hard near Gaitolovo. Fortunately for the Germans, units of the 11th Army arrive on the scene to prevent the siege of the city being lifted.

The Red Army continues to put up fierce resistance on the approaches to Stalingrad, so much so that the 16th Panzer Div is in danger of being destroyed. The 6th Army continues to grind its way forward, but the Stavka is concentrating the 1st Guards, 24th and 66th Armies to threaten the XIV Panzer Corps.[MORE]

Guadalcanal

The 1st Battalion of the 5th Marines lands about 1,000 yards west of Kokumbona and starts east along the shore while I Company of the 3rd Battalion pushes west from Kukum by an overland trail to intercept the enemy withdrawal inland. The 1st Battalion is halted by enemy fire about 1,500 yards east of Kokumbona.

The Rabaul air base launches attacks but 2 bombing raids do not get through because of bad weathers. A B-17 and 14 Army Air Force P-400s of the 67th Fighter Squadron land to augment the Cactus Air Force.

Air Operations, Aleutians

3 28th Composite Bomb Group B-17s attack Kiska. 1 B-17 is lost.

Air Operations, CBI

8 11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s attack a fuel dump at Phu Lo and a barracks and ammunition dump at Hoang Su Phi, both in French Indochina.

Air Operations, Europe

• Soviet aircraft raid Berlin again and other German cities.
• A single bomb dropped by a high-altitude Ju-86P kills 48 and injures 26 in the center of Bristol.

• 159 aircraft to Nuremberg: 71 Lancasters, 41 Wellingtons, 34 Stirlings and 13 Halifaxes
• Crews ordered to bomb at low altitudes; Pathfinders mark area well and crews report good bombing results; reports from the ground do not confirm this; bombs hit as far away as town of Erlangen, 10 miles to the north; bomb reports from the ground indicate that maybe 50 aircraft hit the city, 137 people killed
• 14 Wellingtons, 4 Lancasters, 3 Stirlings and 2 Halifaxes are lost
• 113 aircraft to Saarbrücken: 71 Wellingtons, 24 Halifaxes, 17 Hampdens and 1 Stirling
• Moon is four fifths full and it is judged that this relatively undefended target could be safely hit while the main raid on Nuremberg is taking place; raid is not a success as bombs are scattered over a wide area; in Saarbrücken 15 houses are destroyed, 51 seriously damaged and 1 person killed
• 4 Hampdens, 2 Halifaxes and 1 Wellington are lost

• 3 Halifaxes make leaflet flights without loss

Damage to Factories in Nuremburg

• 11 97th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack the aircraft factory and Luftwaffe repair depot at Meaulte.
• 3 B-17s are damaged, 1 crewman is killed.

Air Operations, Libya

2 USAMEAF B-24 squadrons attack shipping and port facilities at Tobruk.

Air Operations, Solomons

At 1700 2 patrolling Cactus Air Force SBDs attack troop-laden Japanese destroyers in New Georgia Sound only 70 miles from Guadalcanal. No hits are recorded. By 1730 11 SBDs are airborne and attack several of the destroyers at sunset. The Japanese destroyer Asagiri blows up and sinks from a direct hit and 2 other destroyers are damaged, with the convoy unable to put ashore its troops. 2 VMSB-232 SBDs with their crews are lost while strafing the destroyers.

Battle of the Atlantic

The US freighter Topa Topa (5356t), en route to the Gold Coast, is torpedoed and sunk by U-66 losing 18 of her 42-man crew as well as 7 of the 15-man Armed Guard. The British merchantman Clan MacInnes rescues the 35 survivors and takes them to Trinidad.

Caribbean

• The German submarine U-94 is sunk by naval land-based aircraft (VP-92) and the HMCS Oakville.

U-94

Class	Type VIIC
CO	Kapitänleutnant Otto Ites
Location	Caribbean, off Haiti
Cause	Ramming
Casualties	19
Survivors	26

• The US tanker Esso Aruba (8773t), in Convoy TAW-15, is torpedoed by U-511 about 120 miles southeast of Guantanamo Bay. U-511 also torpedoes the British tanker San Fabian and the Dutch tanker Rotterdam, both of which sink. The Esso Aruba, however, remains in convy and reaches her destination the same day without further incident. She suffered no casualties.

Eastern Front

There is a small Russian attack near Leningrad. The German Army Group A begins the assault on Novorossiysk on the Black Sea.

Formation of the Estonian Legion

The XLVIII Panzer Corps has completed its redeployment aroung Abganerovo and prepares to strike the 64th Army in its flank. The XIV Panzer Corps fights its way across the land bridge, the 3rd Motorized Division securing communications with the 16th Panzer. The 60th Motorized Division still lags behind, being out of touch with the 3rd and 16th Divisions. Soviet attacks against the 16th Panzer Division relents as the 66th Army wears itself out. The pressure that has been brought to bear upon the XIV Panzer Corps has prevented the Germans from attacking straight into Stalingrad after they reach the Volga, giving the Soviets a chance to construct their defenses. In the Caucasus, the 17th Army captures Anapa as it draws closer to Novorossysk.

Air Operations, CBI

11th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the airfield at Lashio, Burma and warehouses in the city.

Air Operations, Europe

Soviet aircraft raid Berlin again and also Königsberg, Danzig and Stettin during a night attack.

• 12 Bostons to Ostend and 6 to Comines power station; 2 Mosquitos to Pont-à-Vendin power station
• All targets are bombed
• 1 Boston and 1 Mosquito are lost

11 97th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack the Courtrai/Wevelghem Airdrome and 1 B-17 attacks a target of opportunity, Steene Airdrome.
• 3 B-17s are damaged by enemy fire, but there are no casualties.

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Destroyer HMS Eridge

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Air Operations, Libya

During the night, 12th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack an Axis landing ground, and USAMEAF B-24s attack the harbor at Tobruk.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

USAMEAF B-24s are sent to attack an Axis convoy at sea, but fail to make contact and return to base with their bombs.

Air Operations, New Guinea

5th Air Force B-25s and P-400s attack the airfield at Buna and P-40s attack the supply dump at Milne Bay.

Eastern Front

With supporting artillery fire, the XLVIII Panzer Corps launches its attack southwest of Stalingrad. Shumilov's 64th Army is surprised by the new attack and breaks, Hoth's panzers advancing 20 miles to Gavrilovka at the end of the day. The IV Corps attempts to pin the 64th Army frontally, but Gen Mikhail Shumilov extricates his army, withdrawing toward Stalingrad to avoid isolation south of the city.

As the battle on the approaches intensifies, Zhukov arrives to coordinate the attacks of the armies on the Don-Volga land bridge. After consultation with the Stalingrad Front command, Zhukov informs Stalin that the 66th, 1st Guards and 24th Armies will be unable to counterattack until September 6. Stalin orders Zhukov to begin the offensive as soon as possible but accepts September 6.

Guadalcanal

22 G4M 'Bettys' escorted by 22 A6M Zeros arrive just before noon for a bombing raid. Warned by coastwatchers, 10 VMF-223 F4Fs and 14 67th Figher Squadron P-400s are in the air. The Japanese arrive at high altitude making the P-400s useless. By the time the F4Fs reach altitude the airfield has already been bombed. 2 more F4Fs are damaged and there are more holes in the runway. The Americans claim to have shot down 4 bombers and 4 Zeros, but only 1 'Betty' is confirmed. Now only 8 F4Fs are operational and the P-400s are not any use in protecting airfield.

Japanese Air Attack on Guadalcanal

Air Operations, Aleutians

A Patrol Wing 4 PBY severely damages the Japanese submarine that torpedoed the seaplane tender Casco the previous day. The submarine is later sunk by a US destroyer.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

5th Air Force B-17s attack shipping in Rabaul's St George Channel.

Air Operations, CBI

8 11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s based at Yunnani, China attack the airfield at Myitkiyna, Burma.

Air Operations, Europe

Soviet aircraft raid Berlin and other German cities.

Air Operations, Libya

USAMEAF B-24s attack Tobruk harbor.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 18 carrier-borne A6M Zeros attack a US fast transport loaded with aviation supplies that had run aground near Tulagi while fleeing the previous day's attack. The Zeros are intercepted by 67th Fighter Squadron P-400s and late-arriving VMF-223 P-400s. The pilots claim 19 of the Zeros are shot down. In fact, only 5 are downed. 4 P-400s and 2 pilots are lost and 3 F4Fs are written off due to damage leaving only 5 serviceable F4Fs at Henderson Field.
• 18 G4M 'Betty' bombers arrive over Guadalcanal at 1500 hours and sink the US destroyer-transport Colhoun (APD-2) off Kukum Point in an uncontested attack.

Aleutians

Adak is reoccupied by US troops who encounter no opposition. The intention is to use it as an air and naval operating base in the North Pacific area.

Landing on Adak

Casco Beached on Atka

Battle of the Atlantic

• The US tanker Jack Carnes (10,907t), bound for Aruba, is shelled by U-705. After the tanker's Armed Guard gufire force the submarine to submerge, she torpedoes the tanker. 42 of the tanker's crew and 14 of the Armed Guard take to the life boats. They are rescued over the next few days.
• The US freighter Star of Oregon (7176t), en route to Trinidad, is torpedoed by U-162 and abandoned losing 1 sailor. 52 sailors that were on board survive the loss of the ship and are rescued by patrol craft.

Eastern Front

The German LI and VIII Corps secure the Don-Volga land bridge as the XLVIII Panzer Corps advances to within 30 miles of Stalingrad. The Soviet 62nd and 64th Armies retreat into the city. In the Caucasus, meanwhile, the 1st Panzer Army approaches Grozny and crosses the Terek at Ishcherskaya. As at Stalingrad, the Red Army is battling fiercely and giving ground grudgingly.[MORE]

Guadalcanal

Flying cover for the Japanese bombers this day are planes from the carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku. With an alert from coastwatchers all 19 flyable fighters are in the air including 7 of the P-400s. The transport Burroughs, aground off Tulagi, is discovered to be under attack by the Japanese carrier planes. The American fighters attack the Japanese planes catching them by surprise. 8 Japanese fighters are shot down. The engagement lasts only about 5 minutes. 4 P-400s are lost but 2 pilots rescued. No F4Fs are shot down, but 3 need repair. Only 5 operational F4Fs are available at Henderson.

Just after 1500 18 'Bettys' appear on a bombing run. They are not interested in the airfield but in the ships in the sound. The Burroughs (APD-6) on the far side, the destroyer transport Colhoun (APD-2) on the Guadalcanal side with the destroyer transport Little (APD-4) and the auxiliary Kopara (AG-50) delivering a load of supplies. The Colhoun (APD-2) is surrounded by near misses and some hits and within two minutes sinks with 51 of her crew.

Air Operations, CBI

11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s from Yunnani, China attack the airfield at Myitkiyna, Burma.

Air Operations, Egypt

12th Medium Bomb Group B-25s accompany RAF Bostons in an attack against German Army vehicles behind the main El Alamein battle line.

Air Operations, Europe

• 5 Lancasters lay mines off Denmark with no losses

Air Operations, Libya

• USAMEAF B-24s attack Tobruk harbor.
• 12th Medium Bomb Group attack aircraft parked on a Luftwaffe landing ground.
• 57th Fighter Group P-40s escort RAF bombers during an attack on Maryut.

Air Operations, New Guinea

5th Air Force B-17s attack an ammunition dump at Buna while 22nd Medium Bomb Group B-26s and 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s attack the airfield at Lae. In other attacks, 5th Air Force P-400s strafe Japanese Army ground forces at Wairopi and 5th Air Force P-40s hit gun positions and landing barges at Milne Bay.

Britain, Home Front

The Royal Ulster Constabulary seize 2 large caches of sub-machine guns and ammunition and make 90 arrests in Belfast over the next few days. It was discovered that there was an IRA plan to attack British and American troops in Northern Ireland.

Eastern Front

The Germans have thrust forward to within 16 miles of Stalingrad despite tenacious Russian resistance. Despite increased Russian resistance on the Terek River, the troops of Army Group A strengthen their bridgehead over the river in the area of Mozdok.

The Soviet 1st Guards Army attacks the XIV Panzer Corps north of Stalingrad, while to the south the XLVIII Panzer Corps advances close to Pitomnik in the rear of the 62nd and 64th Armies. In the Caucasus, the Soviets are unable to prevent the 1st Panzer Army from strengthening its bridgeheads on the Terek. Red Army losses in the region have been severe, North Caucasus Front losing 35,000 killed and missing since the end of July, and the Trans-Caucasus Front suffering 7,300 killed and missing in the same period. However, Army Group A is experiencing fuel shortages, which are hampering panzer operations.[MORE]

Guadalcanal

Gen Kiyotake Kawaguchi and 1,200 troops land on the island.

New Guinea

The Australians take the initiative at Milne Bay. Gen Tomitaro Horii is ordered by the Japanese headquarters to go on the defensive inland as well. Gen Harukichi Hyakutake, commanding 17th Army, decides to evacuate the troops who have landed in Milne Bay and concentrate on the Guadalcanal operation. This evacuation is completed by September 7, but at least 1,000 Japanese have died. This is the first significant setback the Japanese have received on land.

North Africa

The Battle of Alam el Halfa continues. By 8:00am Rommel wishes to call off the attack but is persuaded not to. Instead he orders an earlier turn north and a direct attack on Alam el Halfa Ridge but this is beaten off. The Afrika Korps has been bombarded all day by the improved British artillery and by the RAF. This continues day and night for the remainder of the battle, allowing the Germans no rest. Rommel's offensive is slowed by the British 7th Armored Div on his right flank which prevents him from surrounding Alam el Halfa Ridge, his shortage of fuel and the elaborate minefields as well as the RAF who are controlling the skies.

Map of Alam el Halfa