Air Operations, Europe

Allied air attacks continue. British targets include Bremen, Duisburg and Wilhelmshaven. The American targets are in France and the Low Countries. Bomber Command drops more than 6,000 tons of bombs during the month. As yet the USAAF can only make a small contribution, about 200 tons.

Soviet air force planes launch a series of small raids during the month on Budapest, Bucharest and Vienna. They are more for psychological purposes than military value.

Battle of the Atlantic

The German U-boats operate in much the same areas as in August. Their attacks off Trinidad remain important for the next two months, but these are the last easy gains to be made off the American coast. Convoys in this area will only be started in October. The North Atlantic convoys are reorganized to run from New York to the UK rather than from Sydney and Halifax in Canada. This makes fitting the main convoys with the coastal convoys easier. The first Support Groups are formed to aid the escort forces. These are groups of escort vessels, ideally including an escort carrier, which are to be sent to help the escort of any particularly hard-pressed convoy. They are particularly valuable for their high standard of training and teamwork. There are also increases in the number of Leigh light aircraft in service with RAF Coastal Comand. One notable convoy battle occurs around ON-127 (see September 10-14).

Air Operations, Crete

USAMEAF B-24s attack the harbor at Candia and claim hits on 3 ships.

Air Operations, Egypt

• 12th Medium Bomb Group B-25s accompany RAF light bombers in attacks on German Army tanks and trucks around the Alam-el-Half battle area.
• 2 57th Fighter Group P-40 squadrons escort and support various RAF missions.

Air Operations, Europe

• 8 Bostons make an uneventful sweep off the Dutch coast.

• 231 aircraft of 5 types to Saarbrücken.
• Pathfinders illuminate and mark a town believed to be Saarbrücken, but in fact is Saarlouis, 13 miles to the northwest on a similar bend in the Saar River; main force bombs accurately based on the markings; heavy damage reported in the town with 52 people killed; no bombs fall in Saarbrücken.
• 1 Halifax, 1 Lancaster, 1 Stirling and 1 Wellington lost.

Air Operations, Libya

During the night, USAMEAF B-24s attack Tobruk Harbor.

Air Operations, New Guinea

5th Air Force P-40s attack Japanese Army field headquarters at Wagga Wagga on Milne Bay. In other action P-400s strafe the village of Kokoda and Kokoda Pass in the Owen Stanley Mountains.

Battle of the Atlantic

USN and RAF Catalinas defeat all attacks on Convoy SC-97 by U-boat group Vorwärts ('Onward'). U-756 is sunk from a depth-charge attack by the Canadian corvette Morden.

Canadian Corvette Morden

U-756 Class Type VIIC CO Kapitänleutnant Klaus Harney Location North Atlantic Cause Depth Charge Casualties 43 Survivors None

Eastern Front

There is fierce fighting in the Stalingrad area where German units have now reached the suburbs in some sectors. The Russian 62nd Army is in danger of being cut off.

Troops of the 11th Army cross from Kerch and land on the Taman Peninsula. There are both German and Rumanian units involved. The port of Anapa on the Black Sea is taken by units from Army Group A.

The 4th Panzer Army pushes the 64th Army back to the southern suburbs of Stalingrad and is close to linking up with the 6th Army near Pitomnik, the 14th Panzer and 29th Motorized Divisions launching strong attacks. The 62nd Army escapes encirclement at Pitomnik, however, and falls back into Stalingrad. As the fighting around Stalingrad intensifies, the 1st Guards Army redeploys around Lozenoye to strike at the northern flank of the 6th Army between the Don and the Volga. The Soviets are short of weapons and ammunition, but Stalin will not grant any further time for preparation, ordering the attack to begin as planned.

The XLII Corps, all the remains of the 11th Army in the Crimea, crosses the Kerch strait to land in the Kuban. The XLII then joins Group Ruoff (Gen Richard) in its efforts to conquer the Black Sea coast.

Battle of the Caucasus

Guadalcanal

Troops of the Naval Construction Battalion, otherwise known as 'Seabees', are landed on Guadalcanal to assist in developing the US base there. The Seabees are known for ingenious and fast engineering work under combat conditions.

Air Operations, CBI

23rd Fighter Group P-40s attack barges and junks near Poyang Lake, rail targets and warehouses at Hua Yuan, a train on the Wuchang Peninsula and the airfield at Nanchang, all targets in China. The P-40s also shoot down 2 Ki-23 'Oscar' fighters near Nanchang and Singtze at 1810 hours.

Air Operations, Egypt

• 12th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Luftwaffe landing grounds, and in support of the RAF, attack German Army troops and vehicles around Alam-el-Halfa.
• 57th Fighter Group P-40s escort and support RAF missions against German Army positions.

Air Operations, Europe

• An FW-200 Condor is shot down over Iceland by US fighters.
• Soviet planes bomb Warsaw.

• 8 Bostons in low-level pairs to Holland and Belgium; 6 Mosquitos individually to Germany; targets successfully attacked include Ghent, Ijmuiden, Sluiskil, Cologne, Essen and Osnabrück.
• No losses.

• 200 aircraft of 5 types to Karlsruhe.
• Pathfinders are accurate and raid is successful; 200 fires estimated burning at the same time; photos show much residential damage and some industrial; report from the ground says 73 people killed.
• 4 Wellingtons, 2 Lancasters, 1 Halifax and 1 Stirling are lost.

• 3 aircraft lay mines in the Frisians with no loss.

Air Operations, Libya

USAMEAF B-24s attack the port of Tobruk.

Air Operations, New Guinea

5th Air Force P-400s bomb and strafe Japanese ground troops at Kokoda and Alola in the Owen Stanley Mountains.

Air Operations, Solomons

Marine F4Fs are credited with downing 3 G4M 'Bettys' and 4 A6M Zeros while intercepting a noon-hour attack by 18 'Bettys' and 22 Zeros.

Baltic Sea

U-222 sinks after a collison with U-boat U-626.

U-222

Eastern Front

Troops of 11th Army and 17th Army advance near Novorossiysk. Other German and Rumanian troops cross the Kerch strait from the Crimea, so that Novorossiysk is threatened from the west as well as from the north. 1st Panzer Army is approaching Grozny but its progress is slow.

The LI Corps and the XLVIII Panzer Corps push into the Pitomnik area but find the bulk of the 62nd and 64th Armies has pulled out. German pressure at Stalingrad forces the 62nd and 64th Armies back closer to the city. Paulus has acted too slowly to trap the Soviet forces on the steppe.

In the Caucasus, the 17th Army enters the northern suburbs of Novorossiysk but is involved in bitter street fighting with the 47th Army. Gen Eugen Ott's LII Corps crossed the Terek in force as it advances upon Grozny, supporting the III Panzer Corps. A substantial bridgehead is secured, threatening Gen Ivan Maslennikov's left flank.

Germany, Home Front

The German High Command threatens to put all British prisoners captured at Dieppe in chains, as a reprisal for alleged ill-treatment of German PoWs in Britain.

Air Operations, Aleutians

6 B-24s and 5 P-38s are sent from the Fort Glenn Airfield, Umnak, against Kiska in the longest over-water attack of the war to date. 5 B-24s and 3 P-38s abort due to bad weather, but the remaining planes destroy as many as 4 moored Japanese Navy seaplanes. These 3 planes return safely from the 1,260-mile round trip.

Air Operations, CBI

• 23rd Fighter Group P-40s down 2 Ki-27 'Nate' fighters over the airfield at Hengyang, China at 0800 hours and another 'Nate' near Lingling, China at 0855.
• An 11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25 drops bombs and pamphlets on Hanoi, French Indochina.

Air Operations, Egypt

• 12th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Luftwaffe and German Army installations, vehicles, and troop concentrations in support of British 8th Army ground units fighting around Alam-el-Halfa.
• 57th Fighter Group p-40s support numerous RAF missions in and around the battle area.

Air Operations, Europe

• 7 Wellingtons, 3 Stirlings and 1 Halifax to Emden.
• Bomb through cloud on dead-reckoning positions.
• 2 Wellingtons lost.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

USAMEAF B-24s attack an Axis convoy at sea with unknown results.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Fighter Command P-400s bomb and strafe Kokoda Pass, including the airfield at Kokoda. V Bomber Command A-20s and B-25s attack targets in the Salamaua area.

Air Operations, Solomons

Marine Corps SBDs bomb and strafe 34 Japanese barges off Santa Isabel Island and a V Bomber Command strafes Japanese Navy seaplanes at Faisi in the Shortland Islands.

Australia, Home Front

The 'Austerity Campaign' is launched which includes new restrictions on entertainment and sports and increased taxes on alcoholic drinks and tobacco.

Battle of the Atlantic

Whitley 'P' of No 77 Squadron makes visual contact with U-705 from an altitude of 2,500ft at five miles. A depth charge attack from 50ft surprises the U-boat. The plane for a second attack, but it was not necessary.

U-705

A Whitley Attacking U-705

Depth Charges Exploding

Results of an Accurate Attack

U-boat Is Sinking

Caribbean

The destroyers Pathfinder, Quentin and Vimy are heading for Port of Spain, Trinidad when they encounter U-162 during routine asdic sweeping. All three ships attack with depth charges, but no visible results are apparent. About 5 hours after the attacks Vimy obtains a radar contact and sights the submarine on the surface. She opens fire and then rams the U-boat.

British Destroyers Sink U-162

U-162

Air Operations, Aleutians

2 21st Heavy Bomb Squadron B-24s and 2 54th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack Atka Island.

Air Operations, Egypt

• 12th Medium Bomb Group B-25s, supporting RAF Bostons, help repel a German Army ground attack near Alam-el-Halfa.
• In the 57th Fighter Group's first air-to-air action, 2ndLt Thomas T. Williams, a 66th Fighter Squadron P-40, is credited with a Messerschmitt Bf-109 single-engine fighter probably destroyed as he escorts RAF bombers near Alam-el-Halfa.

Air Operations, Europe

Russian night bombers raid Budapest, Vienna, Breslau and Königsberg. 1 bomber is lost. Damage and casualties at Budapest necessitates immediate introduction of 'black-out'.

BOMBER COMMAND
Daylight Ops:

• 6 Mosquitos to Germany; 3 bomb Cologne, Essen and Münster through thick cloud; No losses.

• 251 aircraft to Bremen: 98 Wellingtons, 76 Lancasters, 41 Halifaxes and 36 Stirlings.
• Pathfinders introduce new technique this night; split their aircraft into 3 forces: 'illuminators', who light up the area with white flares; 'visual markers', who drop colored flares if they have identified the aiming point; 'backers-up', who drop all incendiary bomb loads on the colored flares; this pattern will be used by the Pathfinders on future raids with other bombing aids used as they become available.
• Weather is clear and Pathfinder plan works well; reports from the ground indicate raid successful; among industrial building seriously hit are the Weser aircraft works and the Atlas shipyard; 4 dockside warehouses and 3 oil-storage tanks are destroyed; 124 people are killed and 470 injured; damage as below:

A Lancaster Silhouetted Against Smoke Over Bremen

• 3 Wellingtons lay mines in the Frisians without loss.
• 'Hit and run' raiders bomb and strafe Torquay. 1 is shot down on the beach. At night, leaflets containing photographs of the Dieppe Raid are dropped on the English south coast.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

USAMEAF B-24s join with the RAF and the Royal Navy in attacking an Axis convoy at sea. 2 Axis ships are reported sun with another on fire.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Fighter Command P-40s bomb and strafe Japanese ground troops at various locations around Milne Bay.

Air Operations, Solomons

Throughout the day, Cactus Air Force F4Fs, SBDs, and P-400s bomb and strafe troop-laden Japanese landing barges attempting to cross open water from Santa Isabel Island to Guadalcanal. 1 F4F with its pilot is lost.

China

The Japanese re-take Lanchi.

Eastern Front

Over 1000 German planes are involved in attacks in the Stalingrad sector. The Germans reach the Volga south of the city cutting off the Russian 62nd Army.

The arrival of the German 11th Army on the Volkhov is paying dividends. Manstein deploys the XXVI Corps on the northern wing and XXX Corps in the south to contain the Soviet threat.

Yet another futile Soviet attack by the 1st Guards, 24th and 66th Armies against the XIV Panzer Corps suffers at the hands of German artillery and comes to nothing. Overhead, the Luftwaffe continues its round-the-clock attacks against the city.[MORE]

Guadalcanal

Coming in to Savo Island by landing craft the marines expect to be fired upon by the Japanese. The marines cover the whole island, discover villagers but no Japanese. They re-embark the same day.

Because of bad weather the destroyer transports Little (APD-4) and Gregory (APD-3) patrol off Lunga Point during the night. They are being used to bring in reinforcements and supplies. The Tokyo Express comes in bringing more troops accompanied by the Japanese destroyers Yudachi, Murakamo and Hatsuyaki which are going to shell the air field and Lunga Point. Lit up by flares from a well-meaning PBY pilot, the 2 American ships became easy targets for the Japanese destroyers. The Little (APD-4) is soon ablaze after several hits one of which strikes the bridge and kills the Divisional Commander Hugh Hadley and her captain Lt-Cmdr G. B. Lofberg. The crew abandons ship. The Gregory (APD-3) is next. She takes several hits destroying the bridge and wounding the captain Lt-Cmdr Harry Bauer. He gives the order to abandon ship, but drowns in the process. The Japanese destroyers retire at high speed.

Air Operations, Crete

USAMEAF B-24s attack shipping and port facilities at Candia Bay.

Air Operations, Egypt

57th Fighter Group P-40s escort RAF bombers that help repel the German Army attack on Alam-el-Halfa.

Air Operations, Europe

Russian planes bomb Budapest, Vienna and Breslau.

• In its first independent mission of the war the 15th Light Bomb Squadron in 11 A-20s attacks the Le Havre port area which is escorted by 24 31st Fight Group Spitfires.
• The 301st Heavy Bomb Group, in B-17s, conducts its first combat mission of the war, and attack on the Rouen/Sottevile marshalling yard. Altogether, 31 B-17s from the 97th and 301st Heavy Bomb Groups attack the target around 1030 hours without sustaining damage or any crew injuries from enemy fire.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Fighter Command P-40s attack numerous ground targets in the Owen Stanley Mountains between Buna and Kokoda. P-400s and 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s bomb and strafe the airfield at Buna.

Air Operations, Pacific

An AirSoPac PBY based at Ndeni in the Santa Cruz Islands downs an H6K 'Mavis' flying boat it encounters over the open sea.

Air Operations, Solomons

2 67th Fighter Squadron P-400s and 6 VMF-224 F4Fs attack 15 troop-laden Japanese landing barges near Guadalcanal. 1 barges is sunk and several hundred soldiers are known to have died. 1 F4F is lost to enemy fire. The 2 P-400s attack the beached barges later in the day.

Shortly before noon, all 18 available Marine Corps F4Fs intercept 26 G4M 'Bettys' and 20 A6M Zeros. 4 'Bettys' and 1 Zero are shot down to the loss of 2 F4Fs and 1 pilot.

Allied Planning

The Allies Supreme Command decides that the main landing points for Operation TORCH shall be Algiers and Oran in Algeria and Casablanca in Morocco.

Britain, Home Front

The IRA ambush an RUC patrol in County Tyrone. 2 are killed and 1 wounded.

Eastern Front

German troops enter Novorossiysk on the Black Sea which had served as the base of the Soviet fleet in those waters since the fall of Sevastopol.

In Stalingrad Marshal Zhukov conscripts civlians to prepare the city's defenses. Fighting is already going on in the suburbs.

The 1st Guards Army launches more attacks but again suffers heavy casualties with no real gain. Attacks by the 66th and 24th Armies are beaten back. Concentrated and well directed artillery fire smashes the 66th Army on its start line, while the 24th is pushed back by a combination of artillery ans small arms fire. Both armies try to provide support on the flanks of the 1st Guards but fail miserably. They are successful, however, in preventing the release of German forces into Stalingrad from the north.

Guadalcanal

The Cactus Air Force spots 15 large enemy landing boats, each carrying about 75 men, approaching the northwest corner of Guadalcanal. US planes give the landing boats a thorough working over sinking 3. P-400s strafe and bomb along the beach and sink most of the 12 remaining boats. A Japanese air raid comes in at noon in thr form of 26 bombers and 20 Zeros. 18 US planes rise to meet the Japanese. 2 bombers and a Zero are shot down but 2 F4Fs are lost and 3 more badly damaged.

Japanese fast destroyers land reinforcements and essential supplies on Guadalcanal during the night. The US Navy and Marines soon nickname this almost nightly service the 'Tokyo Express'.

Air Operations, Aleutians

A 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24 on patrol duty sinks a Japanese Navy minelayer and strafes a tender at Tanaga Island.

Air Operations, Europe

• In a raid on Britain the Me-210 fighter-bomber makes its debut. 2 are shot down over the north Yorkshire coast. There is also a night raid on Sunderland.
• B-17s attack the marshalling yards at Rouen.

• 12 Bostons attack ships in Boulogne harbor, but score no hits; 5 Mosquitos to Germany, Bremerhaven is bombed, 1 Mosquito lost.

• 207 aircraft of 6 types to Duisburg.
• Cloud and haze present, bombing not concentrated; reports from the ground say heaviest raid to date, 114 buildings destroyed, 316 seriously damaged and 86 people are killed.
• 5 Wellingtons, 2 Halifaxes and 1 Stirling are lost.

• 9 aircraft lay mines off Heligoland and in the Frisians; 5 aircraft on leaflet flights; No losses.

• 11 301st Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack the St.-Omer/Longuenesse Airdrome without loss or incident. 2 of the B-17s cannot find the primary target and attack the St.-Omer/Ft. Rouge Airdrome.
• 30 B-17s from the 97th Heavy Bomb Group and the newly committed 92nd Heavy Bomb Group attack the aircraft repair facility and airdrome at Meaulte.
• 1 B-17 from each group is lost, 7 are damaged. Casualties: 1 killed, 5 wounded, 18 missing.
• 12 15th Light Bomb Squadron A-20s, escorted by 37 31st Fighter Group Spitfires, attack the Abbeville/Drucat Airdrome at 1700 hours without loss.

Air Operations, New Guinea

RAAF bombers and V Fighter Command P-40s attack a Japanese cruiser and destroyer near Cape Kaitahua. 5th Air Force A-20s and P-400s attack ground targets in the Owen Stanley Mountains.

Britain, Home Front

British and German cross-Channel guns exchange fire for about an hour.

Eastern Front

Army Group A captures the major Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. The Battle of Stalingrad, the 'Red Verdun', reaches a critical phase as both sides throw in reinforcements.

The 1st Guards Army has worn itself out, having suffered crippling casualties. Farther south, the 62nd and 64th Armies dig into their final defensive positions before Stalingrad and prepare to fight a last ditch battle to prevent the Germans from taking the city.

In the Caucasus, Gen Richard Ruoff's 17th Army completes the capture of Novorossiysk after a bitter struggle with the 47th Army.

New Guinea

The Australians mop up the last centers of Japanese resistance at Milne Bay, but in the Owen Stanley Mountains they have to retreat further toward Port Moresby.

Pacific

• The American battleship South Dakota (BB-57) strikes a coral reef off Tonga and is seriously damaged.
• The US submarine Growler (SS-215) sinks the Japanese merchant cargo ship Taika Maru (2204t) 20 miles northwest of Keelung, Formosa.

Air Operations, Aleutians

3 28th Composite Group B-24s bomb targets in Kiska harbor and shoot down 1 Japanese float plane.

Air Operations, Europe

• 5 Mosquitos bomb Bremerhaven, Cologne, Emden, Essen and Wilhelmshaven. Cologne and Wilhelmshaven do not report bombings this day. No losses.

• 16 aircraft sent to bomb Heinkel works at Warnemünde, but are recalled; 43 aircraft lay mines off Biscay ports and in the Frisians
• 1 Wellington minelayer lost.

• Although the 97th and 301st Heavy Bomb Groups sent 15 and 14 B-17s respectively, only 4 97th Group bombers attack a Rotterdam shipyard around 1020 hours, and only 5 301st Group bombers attack targets in Utrecht around 1115 hours. Luftwaffe fighters attack both formations. USAAF gunners are credited with downing 12 of the fighters.
• 5 B-17s are damaged. Casualties: 1 killed, 4 wounded.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

USAMEAF B-24s attack Maleme Airdrome (Crete) and convoys at sea and in Suda Bay (Greece). [ | ]

Air Operations, New Guinea

RAAF bombers and V Fighter Command P-40s attack a Japanese cruiser and destroyer near Cape Kaitahua and 5th Air Force A-20s and P-40s attack ground targets in the Owen Stanley Mountains.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-165 sinks the Greek steamer Aeas (4,729t) and the Canadian yacht Raccoon (358t) in the St Lawrence River. 2 crewmen are lost on the Greek ship, there are 29 survivors. All 37 on board the Canadian yacht are lost.

SB2U Vindicators in Flight

Diplomatic Relations

Italy declares war on Brazil.

Eastern Front

The Russians manage to contain German pressure both at Stalingrad and east of Novorossiysk.

With the 62nd Army in the suburbs of Stalingrad, the LI Corps of the 6th Army launches a strong attack with 2 infantry divisions. Launched from Gumrak, the attack is designed to break into the city center. After intense fighting the Germans almost reach the Mamayev Kurgan but at great cost against stubborn Soviet resistance. The Mamayev Kurgan is to become the scene of ferocious battles over the coming weeks as both armies fight for control of the commanding height.

To the south, there is heavy fighting around Novorossiysk as the 47th Army launches a series of punishing counterattacks, putting the 17th Army under severe pressure.

RAF Armorers Prepare 500lb Bombs for Convoy Attacks

Air Operations, CBI

A 23rd Fighter Group P-40 a Japanese twin-engine plane near the airfield at Kunming, China at 1048 hours.

Air Operations, Europe

• 12 Bostons bomb Cherbourg and Le Havre without a loss.

• 249 aircraft of 5 types to Frankfurt.
• Pathfinders unable to locate Frankfurt accurately; most bombs fall southwest of the city and in the town of Rüsselsheim, 15 miles away; Frankfurt reports only a few bombs hit the city
• Bomber Command says Opel tank factory and Michelin tire factory are hit; 1 person killed and 30 injured.
• 5 Wellingtons and 2 Halifaxes are lost.

Air Operations, Greece

USAMEAF B-24s attack shipping and port facilities at Suda Bay.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-17s and RAAF Hudsons attack a Japanese cruiser and destroyer north of the D'Entrecasteau Islands. V Fighter Command P-400s provide direct support to embattled Australian Army ground troops near Efogi.

Air Operations, Solomons

Throughout the day, Cactus Air Force F4Fs and P-400s provide direct support to a Marine ground attack on a Japanese Army support base east of the Lunga Perimeter. 3 F4Fs and 1 P-400 are lost due to accidents and another F4F crashes on takeoff. After failing to locate 11 Japanese Navy float planes attacking facilities at Tulagi, 4 of 14 Cactus Air Force F4Fs are written off and 2 others damaged in bad landings in foggy weather.

Atlantic

British MGBs engage German coastal convoys off Cherbourg and in the Straits of Dover. German shore batteries open fire at Cherbourg.

German Messerschmitt Lands in Stalingrad

Guadalcanal

A provisional battalion composed of some of the 1st Raider and 1st Parachute Battalions moves east from Lunga Point by sea to destroy an enemy force at Tasimboko, near Taivu Point. Debarking east of Tasimboko, the battalion moves west clashing with outposts of a strong enemy force that has landed recently near Taivu Point. The Japanese are driven from Tasimboko. The battalion suffer 8 casualties while killing 27 Japanese. The raiders are supported by aircraft from Henderson Field. The Japanese in the Taivu Point area are the main body of a new assault force with a smaller part of this force is in the vicinity of Kokumbona.

Air Operations, Europe

• 6 Mosquitos attack Münster, Osnabrück and Bielefeld without a loss.

• 34 aircraft lay mines from Denmark to the Bay of Biscay
• 1 Lancaster lost.

Air Operations, Libya

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

Air Operations, New Guinea

3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s provide direct support for Australian ground troops and attack Japanese Army ground troops in the Owen Stanley Mountains. In other action. V Fighter Command strafe targets at Goodenough Island.

Air Operations, Solomons

Marine Corps F4Fs shoot down 7 G4M 'Betty' bombers and 3 A6M Zeros after intercepting a noon attack on Guadalcanal. 1 F4F is lost in a takeoff accident and 3 other are shot down with the loss of 1 pilot.

Battle of the Atlantic

The US Coast Guard weather ship Muskeget (WAG-48) is torpedoed and sunk by U-755 between Norfolk, Virginia and Iceland with the loss of all 120 men on board..

Diplomatic Relations

Iran declares war on Germany.

Eastern Front

Hitler sacks Field Marshal Wilhelm List from command of Army Group A for criticizing his Eastern Front Strategy. He is replaced by Gen Paul von Kleist.

The LI Corps moves closer to the Mamayev Kurgan, putting the center of the 62nd Army under pressure. The Soviets are in real danger of disintegration as the Germans deliver hammering blows upon the length of the front before the Volga. On its northern flank, the 62nd Army is assailed by the XIV Panzer Corps, in the center it is under pressure from the LI Corps and to the south is being heavily attacked by the XLVIII Panzer Corp.

Paulus decides to commit his main strength to the battle for the city,while to the north the XIV Panzer Corps protects the exposed Don-Volga land bridge and the VIII and XI Corps protect the junction with the 3rd Rumanian Army in the Don Elbow. Later in the battle, the Rumanian force will take over a large sector of the line so that the VIII can defend the sector between the Volga and the Don and the XIV Panzer and XI Corps can be fully committed to the fighting inside the city. Farther south, the 4th Panzer Army has drawn closer to the southern suburbs, pounding the 64th Army.

With Army Group A bogged down, Hitler relieves Field Marshal Wilhelm List from command of the army group. Instead of appointing a successor, Hitler takes over personal command of the army group, the day-to-day running of the German offensive in this region being added to his responsibilities as head of state, leader of the party and commander in chief of the armed forces.

English Channel

'Whirlibombers', Whirlwind 2-engined fighter-bombers, sink 2 German armed trawlers near Alderney Island.

Germany, Command

Hitler relieves Field Marshal Wilhelm List from command of Army Group A for not achieving more (an indication fo the Führer's continuing frustration with his senior army commanders, and his failure to understand military logistics), deciding that he will take personal command of the formation.

Guadalcanal

The commander of the Japanese 17th Army, Gen Haruyoshi Hyakutake, lands at Tassafaronga with elements of 2nd Inf Div.

The Japanese send a large force of 'Bettys' to attack mainly shipping in the sound. Marine fighters rise to meet them and shoot down 5 bombers and 3 Zeros. Capt Marion Carl, a 12-plane ace, fails to return. 4 more fighters are gone and 3 pilots are wounded or missing. Fatigue is beginning to take its toll.

Air Operations, Europe

• 479 aircraft to Düsseldorf on a second concentrated 50-minute raid: 242 Wellingtons, 89 Lancasters, 59 Halifaxes, 47 Stirlings, 28 Hampdens and 14 Whitleys. Training aircraft of Groups 91, 92 and 93 participate in the raid.
• Pathfinders successfully mark the target using 'Pink Pansies' in 4,000lb bomb casings for the first time; all parts of the city are hit except the north section along with the neighboring town of Neuss; 39 industrial firms in Düsseldorf and 13 in Neuss are hit halting production for various times; 8 public buildings destroyed, 67 damaged; 911 houses destroyed, 1,506 seriously damaged and 8,340 lightly damaged; 132 people killed, 116 people classified missing, 19,427 bombed out.
• 20 Wellingtons, 5 Lancasters, 4 Stirlings, 3 Halifaxes and 1 Hampden lost.

Major Raid on Düsseldorf

Air Operations, Solomons

27 G4M 'Betty' bombers and 15 A6M Zeros are intercepted over Guadalcanal by 5 Marine Corps F4Fs. 5 'Bettys' are shot down about 1230 hours.

Atlantic

• British MTBs and MTGs attack a strongly escorted convoy off the Dutch North Sea island of Texel. 2 ships in the convoy are damaged and MGB-335 is lost.
• The US freighter American Leader (8015t) is shelled, torpedoed and sunk by the German auxiliary cruiser Michel in the South Atlantic about 800 miles west of the mouth of the Cape of Good Hope. 39 or the 49 merchant seamen and 8 of the 9 Armed Guard sailors are rescued by the Michel. Those rescued are later turned over to the Japanese at Singapore.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The increasing skill of U-boat commanders is shown in the operations against the convoy ON-127. Over the next few days, through the 14th, every U-boat from a group of 13 manages to make at least one attack. Only 1 U-boat is damaged and 12 freighters and 1 destroyer are sunk.
• German U-boat U-69 plants 12 mines off the Chesapeake capes. The channel is cleared by minesweepers within 2 days. It is the last mine threat of the war off the Virginia coast.

Britain, Home Front

Churchill announces in the House of Commons that troop reinforcements have arrived in India and that 'firm but tempered measures' are being taken against 'the revolutionary' action of the Congress party.

Eastern Front

North of the city, the 1st Guards, 66th and 24th Armies attack but remain unable to break through the German screen and suffer further heavy casualties. Zhukov reports to Stalin that it is clear the Soviets will not break through to relieve the 62nd Army, the Germans having strengthened their northern flank. Stalin orders Zhukov to report to Moscow. Before he leaves, he orders the 1st Guards to hand over its forces to the 24th and 66th Armies and move sectors, taking on 5 rifle divisions and 3 tank corps from the Stavka reserve. The 'new' 1st Guards is to attack on September 17.

Following the attack by the 6th Army, the 4th Panzer Army strikes the 62nd Army with the XLVIII Panzer Corps, pounding the junction of the 62nd and 64th Armies. Furious fighting ensues, the likes of which have not been seen before on the eastern front. With the front in danger of disintegration, the Stavka replaces Gen Anton Lopatin as commander of the 62nd Army, Gen Vasily Chuikov being appointed instead. Until Chuikov arrives Gen Nikolay Krylov deputizes.

As the fighting on the eastern front intensifies, Field Marshal Halder estimates that the campaign since June 22, 1941 has cost the Ostheer 1,637,000 men killed, wounded and missing.

Air Operations, Far East

RAF bombers attack Japanese targets in Rangoon, Mandalay and Prome.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s and 22nd Medium Bomb Group B-26s attack the airfield at Buna and ground targets in the Owen Stanley Mountains.
• The Japanese destroyer Yayoi is sunk by V Bomber Command B-17s and RAAF Hudsons flying from Normanby Island, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, off New Guinea.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 26 G4M 'Betty' bombers and 8 A6M Zeros are intercepted over Guadalcanal by 12 Marine Corps F4Fs. 1 P-400 is destroyed by a bomb and several 67th Fighter Squadron are injured. 6 'Bettys' and 1 Zero are shot down by the F4Fs to the loss of 1 F4F.
• 9 Cactus Air Force SBDs attack Gizo harbor and 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s strafe shore installations on Gizo Island.

Aleutian Islands

The Americans complete the airstrip on Adak and can now begin raiding Kiska Island, 250 miles away, which is occupied by the Japanese.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-517 sinks the Canadian corvette Charlottetown (900t) 5 miles off Cap-Chat in the Gulf of St Lawrence with the loss of 9 of her crew. 55 survivors are picked up by the Canadian minesweeper Clayoquot.

Eastern Front

The attacks by the 6th Army and the 4th Panzer Army press the 62nd and 64th Armies back into Stalingrad. Heavy fighting rages in the Mnina suburb where the XLVIII Panzer Corps is punching its way through to the Volga. Already to the north in the Rynok and Spartakovka suburbs, the Germans hold a 5-mile stretch of the Volga river bank, bringing artillery fire to bear upon Soviet river traffic.

In the Caucasus, the 17th Army is fighting inside Novorossiysk, while elements of the 47th Army continue to resist in the cement factory.

Guadalcanal

6,000 Japanese have reached the island since August 29 in fast transports escorted by warships, landing by night. The Americcans call these the 'Tokyo Night Express'.

The 'Bettys' come again at their usual time. The Cactus Air Force is slow to respond and the east side of the airfield is hit by a pattern of bombs causing 20 casualties and destroying 1 P-400. The F4Fs shoot down 6 bombers and fighters but 1 F4F is shot down although the pilot is able to swim to shore. Later in the afternoon 24 F4Fs from Saratoga's (CV-3) 'Fighting Five', the fighter squadron of Air Group Five, arrive.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

A V Bomber Command B-17 strafes Japanese ships in the Bismarck Sea near Kavieng.

Air Operations, Libya

During the night, USAMEAF B-24s attack shipping and port facilities at Benghazi and Tobruk.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-17s, 22nd Medium Bomb Group B-26s, 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s, and V Figther Command P-400s attack the airfield and landing barges at Buna. V Fighter Command P-40s attack ground targets at Goodenough Island.

A new bomb-bay device is used for the first time in the attack on the Buna airfield. It allows low-flying A-20s to drop clusters of 23-pound parachute-fragmentation bombs. Deeming the test successful, the use of parachute clusters will become common in A-20 missions.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 42 G4M 'Betty' bombers and an unknown number of escorting A6M Zeros attacking Guadalcanal are intercepted by 11 F4Fs and 21 VF-5 F4Fs. Marine Corps F4F pilots claim 9 'Bettys' and a Zero down over New Georgia Sound about 1130 hours, and VF-5 pilots claim 5 more 'Bettys' over Guadalcanal around 1145 hours. 1 VF-5 is written off after a bad landing in which the pilot is killed.
• 15 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s search the area for a reported Japanese carrier. No carrier is found and 3 B-17s are lost in bad weather with all but 2 crewmen rescued from the sea.

Arctic Ocean

In a series of attacks lasting ten days U-boats and the Luftwaffe aim at two Allied convoys, PQ-19 and QP-14, carrying supplies to Russia. 17 ships totalling 94,791 tons are sunk. The Germans lose 4 submarines and 41 aircraft.

U-88 is sunk by British destroyer HMS Faulknor during operations against convoy PQ-18. Faulknor was crossing ahead of the convoy when her asdic located a firm contact. A depth charge attack is made six minutes later. Shortly afterward the asdic operator reported distinct breaking-up noises.

U-88 Class Type VIIC CO Kapitänleutnant Heino Bohmann Location Arctic, NW of Bear Island Cause Depth charge Casualties 46 Survivors None

Torpedo Attack on Outbound Arctic Convoy

Barents Sea

The German steamer Robert Bornhofen (6643t) in Porsangerfjord, Norway.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-156, en route to the area of the Cape of Good Hope, sinks the liner Laconia just south of the equator. Laconia is carrying about 1,800 servicemen's wives and children and Italian prisoners of war. Only when he surfaced and started picking up survivors did Korvettenkapitan Werner Hartenstein realize who was on the ship. He sends radio messages to the Allied authorities in plain language. U-156 is, however, attacked by an American plane, a Liberator bomber. Dönitz, therefore, gives orders that there are to be no further similar rescue attempts by U-boats. He also arranges for Vichy ships from Dakar to be sent to finish the rescue work. These ships subsequently rescue the bulk of the ship's passengers and crew. The Laconia Order of Sept 17, 1942 forms one of the counts against Dönitz at Nuremberg.

  Shipwrecked Persons Transfer

  Over 1,000 Men Are Adrift in the Laconia’s Lifeboats

  A tragedy of errors over the next 4 days compounds the original horror. French ships are en route from west Africa when an American plane out of Ascension attacks the German sub even though it has displayed a giant Red Cross flag. The attack was ordered even though it was known survivors from the Laconia might be killed. 2 other U-boats are also in the area in the rescue effort, and the 3 submarines eventually turn over the survivors to the French. Of the original 2,732 people aboard, which includes 80 women and children, 1,111 survive. Both sides are embittered by the losses.

• The US tanker Patrick J. Hurley (10,865t), en route to Belfast, Ireland, is shelled by U-512 and abandoned. 31 of the 41 merchant seamen and 14 of the 18 Armed Guard sailors survive the loss and are rescued by the British steamship Loch Dee and the Swedish steamship Etna.

Air Operations, Aleutians

While an 11th Air Force LB-30 photographs Kiska, 2 54th Fighter Squadron P-38s strafe a seaplane tender and ground targets. 1 P-38 shoots down a A6M2-N 'Rufe' seaplane fighter over Kiska, but the other P-38 is damaged by ground fire and the LB-30 is damaged by a 'Rufe'. All 3 return to base safely.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

V Bomber Command B-17s attack a Japanese cruiser near Rabaul, but record no hits.

Air Operations, Europe

• 446 aircraft to Bremen; included are planes from OTUs again.
• Lloyd dynamo works is hit and put out of action for 2 weeks; parts of the Focke-Wulf factory also hit and out of action for various periods; 7 cultural and historic buildings hit along with 6 schools and 2 hospitals; 70 people are killed and 371 injured.
• 15 Wellingtons, 2 Lancasters, 1 Halifax, 1 Hampden, 1 Stirling and 1 Whitley are lost.

Air Operations, Libya

• Working in coordination with a Royal Navy battle force, British Army ground observers, and RAF combat units, USAMEAF B-17s and B-24s mount 35 sorties and 12th Medium Bomb Group B-25s mount 55 sorties against the harbor at Tobruk.
• 20 assorted bomber sorties are also mounted against the harbor at Benghazi.
• 4 B-25s are lost over Tobruk.

Air Operations, New Guinea

22nd Medium Bomb Group B-26s attach the airfield at Lae and V Fighter Command strafe buildings on Goodenough Island.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack a Japanese Navy seaplane base at Rekata Bay, Santa Isabel.
• 28 G4M 'Betty' bombers and an unknown number of A6M Zeros attack Henderson Field at 0950, but no US aircraft are airborne to defend. F4Fs are in the air during the next attacks. 4 'Bettys' and 3 Zeros are shot down by Marine Corps F4Fs between 1100 and 1420 hours. During the same period, VF-5s shoot down 2 'Bettys' and 2 Zeros. 6 F4Fs are lost and 2 are badly damaged in the day's action.
• At 1730 hours, 2 low-flying A6M2-N 'Rufe' seaplanes based at Rekata Bay, Santa Isabel, shoot down a Marine Corps SBD returning from a search mission. Both the pilot and the gunner are killed.

Allied Planning

Eisenhower takes over commmand of Operation TORCH with headquarters in London.

Arctic Ocean

During the next 6 days, the convoy PQ-18 passes to the USSR with none of the disasters of its predecessor. It is provided with a large escort including an escort carrier. 13 ships are lost, but the Germans lose 2 U-boats and 20 planes.

Torpedo Attack on Outbound Arctic Convoy PQ-18

Eastern Front

The battle for Stalingrad begins its fourth week. The German 6th Army has now penetrated into the city. By November 18th the Germans will have taken almost all the city, with the Russians holding no more that three bridgeheads across the Volga. The mass of the Russian artillery, however, is dug in on the other side of the Volga and is relatively protected from German air attacks.

To avoid the sufferings endured by German troops the previous winter, Hitler appoints Generals Franz Halder, Jacob and Wietersheim to look after military requirements and supplies.

A massive German assault begins at Stalingrad. The 71st, 76th and 295th Infantry Divisions attack from Gumrak against the center of the 62nd Army. Farther south, the 94th Infantry, 29th Panzergrenadier and 14th and 24th Panzer Divisions smash through the Yelshanka and Dar Gova suburbs and reach the Volga. The fighting rages throughout the night. Stalin orders the 13th Guards Rifle Division to cross the Volga into the city to reinforce the 62nd Army.[MORE]

Guadalcanal

Yamamoto orders the 11th Air Fleet at Rabaul to send a scouting mission to Henderson Field to see if the Japanese have taken it. 2 observation planes and 20 Zeros take off. They arrive over Henderson early in the morning but are met by F4Fs. Just before this 18 new F4Fs had arrived from the carrier Hornet (CV-8). Only 17 Zeros return home, but 1 US pilot is shot down and 2 others are wounded, 2 F4Fs lost and another badly damaged. Adms Turner and McCain leave just before noon. 10 minutes later the daily Japanese bomber raid appears. New, untried pilots are among the Japanese and they drop their bombs on Japanese positions at Taivu Point instead of on the Americans. US pilots make the mistake of engaging Zeros in dog fights, which is not recommended. 2 Zeros are shot down but 3 US pilots are also shot down. 2 more F4Fs are so badly damaged they could only be used for parts. 4 of the 18 that have just arrived are already lost.

Air Operations, Aleutians

13 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s and 1 B-17, escorted by 14 XI Fighter Command P-38s and 14 P-39s, attack the Japanese submarine base at Kiska for the first time from the new USAAF airfield on Adak Island. 3 Japanese submarines are strafed, 2 minesweepers are sunk by bombs, and several ships and barges are damaged. In addition to strafing antiaircraft batteries and shore installations 54th Fighter Squadron P-38s and 42nd Fighter Squadron P-39s down 4 A6M2-N 'Rufe' float seaplanes and a biplane over Kiska. 2 P-38s and their pilots are lost in a mid-air collision.

Air Operations, Europe

•   5 Mosquitos bomb ports in northern Germany; Wilhelmshaven reports bombs falling in city center with 10 people injured; Kiel reports bombs falling in nearby village, but no particular damage; no losses.

• 22 aircraft of 5 types to Wilhelmshaven; Hampdens involved in the raid make last operational effort for front-line squadron.
• Pathfinder marking is accurate; Wilhelmshaven reports worst raid to date; housing and city center type buildings hardest hit; 77 people are killed and more than 50 injured.
• 2 Wellingtons are lost.

Air Operations, Greece

USAMEAF B-24s attack Axis ships in Suda Bay and are credited with setting a tanker on fire.

Air Operations, Libya

USAMEAF heavy bombers attack Tobruk.

Aleutians

American bombers attack the Japanese held island of Kiska. The attacks are repeated during the next few days.

Explosion from Air Attack on Arctic Convoy PQ-18

Air Operations, New Guinea

1 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20 attacks ground targets at Myola.

Air Operations, Solomons

• VF-5 F4Fs down 4 A6M2-N 'Rufe' float seaplanes over Guadalcanal about 1000 hours. 28 G4M 'Betty' bombers and an unknown number of escorting A6M Zeros attack Henderson Field about 1300 hours. 5 Marine Corps F4Fs down 2 'Bettys' and 2 Zeros about 1310 hours. Several Navy and Marine Coprs F4Fs shoot down 9 F1M 'Pete' float biplanes near Savo Island about 1745 hours.
• 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack Japanese warships in New Georgia Sound.

Arctic Ocean

U-589 has been shadowing Convoy PQ-18 when she is detected by a Swordfish aircraft of 825 NAS from the escort carrier HMS Avenger. The Swordfish attacks but is driven off by a Bv-138 reconnaissance aircraft. The destroyer HMS Onslow is dispatched to the area and sights the U-boat on the surface. Onslow makes her first attack at 1055 and continues for three hours after which it is determined that the U-boat has been destroyed.

U-589

Battle of the Atlantic

U-91 sinks the Canadian destroyer Ottawa in the Gulf of St Lawrence. 114 men are lost, there are 67 survivors.

Eastern Front

Von Paulus' infantry overcome desperate Russian resistance and penetrate into the center of Stalingrad, reaching the banks of the Volga. The Battle of Stalingrad approaches its epic climax.

The German assaults, backed up by massive artillery fire and Luftwaffe aircraft, continue. The XLVIII Panzer Corps takes the Tsaritsyn quarter while, south of Mamayev Kurgan, the 76th Infantry Division makes steady gains, taking the railway station (it changes hands four times during the day). Mamayev Kurgan falls to the 295th Infantry Division, cutting the 62nd Army in two. During the night the 13th Guards Rifle Division crosses the river and establishes a small bridgehead in the face of fierce resistance.

The Luftwaffe drops mines in the Volga River at Stalingrad.[MORE]

Guadalcanal

The Japanese break off their attack on Bloody Ridge at dawn and withdraw under air attack, leaving about 600 dead of a force of an estimated 2,000. The Marine casualties on Bloody Ridge is about 20% of the force engaged: 31 killed, 103 wounded, and 9 missing. The exact composition of the Japanese forces is not clear. The 1st and 3rd Battalions, 124th Infantry, and the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry, probably deliver the assault against Bloody Ridge while the rear echelon of the Ichiki Force may have attacked the 1st Marines. The 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry, probably delivered the weak attack against the 5th Marines.

Air Operations, Aleutians

XI Fighter Command aircraft strafe ground targets on Kiska.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

V Bomber Command B-17s attack airfields in the Rabaul area.

Air Operations, Egypt

USAMEAF B-24s and 57th Fighter Group P-40s support RAF attacks on German Army facilites and troops west of El Alamein.

Air Operations, Europe

• 12 Bostons attack whaling factory ship Solglint in Cherbourg harbor, ship is set on fire and gutted; no losses.

Attack on the Factory Ship Solglint at Cherbourg

Bombs Hitting the Ship and Water

• 27 Wellingtons and 13 Stirlings of 1 and 3 Groups lay mines in the Frisians and off Verdon without loss.

Air Operations, Greece

A lone B-24 sent to reconnoiter Suda Bay claims 1 hit for 1 bomb on an Axis tanker.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-25s and 22nd Medium Bomb Group B-26s attack Buna, Sanananda, and Japanese Army bases in the Owen Stanley Mountains.

Vickers Anti-Aircraft Tank

Air Operations, Solomons

11th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s mount 5 separate attacks against the Japanese Navy seaplane base at Rekata Bay, Santa Isabel.

Battle of the Atlantic

Whitley 'B' of No 58 Squadron sights U-261 on the surface at a distance of seven miles. The aircraft drops three depth charges through low cloud hitting the conning tower with one and straddling the U-boat with the other two. After a second attack the U-boat sinks stern first.

U-261

Eastern Front

The Germans attack powerfully in the center of Stalingrad. Hundreds of dive-bombers assault the city. The Russian defenders, holed up in the factories, hold out. The Rodimtsev Division is ordered to 'clear' the Germans from Mamai Hill and the railway station in the city center. The railway station will change hands several times in the course of the battle.

The newly committed 13th Guards attack from its small bridgehead, crashing into the 71st Infantry Division. Bitter battles rage for control of the central railway station, which changes hands frequently. Other elements of the 13th Guards launch a fierce attack upon the Mamayev Kugan, hitting the 295th Infantry Division. While the 13th Guards launch its attacks, the 71st and 295th Infantry Divisions again try to push into the city center. To the south, the 94th Infantry, 24th and 14th Panzer Divisions fight their way through Dar Gova, Mnina and Yelshanka as they try to smash open the junction of the 64th and 62nd Armies at Kuporosnoye. During the night, Chuikov brings more units of the 13th Guards across the Volga into Stalingrad.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

V Bomber Command B-17s attack Japanese Navy airfields at Rabaul and Gasmata.

Air Operations, Europe

3 American-volunteer 'Eagle Squadrons' are to be transferred from the RAF to the USAAF.

• 9 Bostons to Den Helder, but turn back; 4 of 6 Mosquitos bomb chemical factory in Wiesbaden without loss.

• 369 aircraft to Essen; includes some training group aircraft.
• Much of the bombing is scattered, but is considered successful attack; 33 large and 80 medium fires are started; 8 industrial and 6 transport facilities are hit; Krupps works are hit by 15 high-explosive bombs as well as by a crashing bomber filled with incendiaries; 47 people killed and 92 injured. Many other towns hit including Bocham with 50 fires and 4 people killed; Wuppertal with 13 killed; Heme with a large fire in a truck garage; and Cochem, a small town on the Moselle 90 miles to the south, which received a bomb load destroyin 4 houses and killing 15 people.
• 21 Wellingtons, 9 Lancasters, 5 Stirlings, 3 Halifaxes and 1 Whitley are lost.

Air Operations, Libya

During the night, USAMEAF B-24s attack the harbor at Benghazi.

Air Operations, New Guinea

1 V Bomber Command B-17 attacks Japanese Navy landing barges at Sanananda and 1 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20 bombs and strafes several Japanese Army targets in the Owen Stanly Mountains.

Aleutian Islands

The Japanese have evacuated Attu Island, transferring the garrison to Kiska.

Battle of the Atlantic

The US freighter Commercial Trader (2606t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-558 east of Trinidad. 7 of the 29-man crew are lost in the attack as well as 3 of the 9-man Armed Guard sailors. The survivors reach Tobago on the same day.

Diplomatic Relations

The United States protests to the Vichy government against the mass deportation of Jews.

Arctic Ocean

Just after 0300 U-457 penetrates the screen of Convoy PQ-18, but is spotted by the destroyer HMS Impulsive. The destroyer gains asdic contact and delivers an immediate attack with depth charges which is later confirmed to have sunk the U-boat.

U-457

China

Gen Claire L. Chennault suggests that the prime task of his aircraft should be the defense of the air-lift between India and China.

Chinese Soldier Guarding a B-25

Madagascar

The Governor-General of the island asks for armistice terms.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

V Bomber Command B-17s mount single-aircraft attacks against the airfields in the Rabaul area.

Air Operations, Europe

• 3 Halifaxes make leaflet flights over France without loss.

Air Operations, Greece

USAMEAF B-24s attack shipping in Pylos Bay and port facilities and shipping at Sphakia, Khalones and Pylos Island.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-17s mount single-aircraft attacks Lae and a beached cargo ship at Salamaua. V Fighter Command P-39s, P-40s and P-400s bomb and strafe landing barges at Lae and Salamaua.

Atomic Research

All atomic research in the United States is placed under military control and Gen Leslie Groves is appointed to direct the program. Groves is deeply worried about security; partly for this reason and partly through simple chauvinism he is strongly opposed to sharing any information with the British (see December 1942).

Battle of the Atlantic

• The British minesweeping trawler Waterfly (387t) is sunk by German bombing off Dungeness with the loss of 15 of her crew.
• The US freighter Mae (12,225t) is torpedoed, shelled and sunk by U-515 about 41 miles north of Georgetown, British Guiana with the loss of 1 of her crew. The 31 surviving crewmen and the 9-man Armed Guard are rescued by the Norwegian merchantman Norwangen. They are then transferred to the Canadian merchantman Gypsum King and taken to Georgetown.

Eastern Front

Fierce hand-to-hand street fighting rages in the northwest outskirts of Stalingrad.

Men of the 92nd Rifle Brigade, newly committed to the battle, take up positions in the grain eleator, opening a savage 3-day battle for the building. Repeated German attacks are repulsed by the small bank of Soviet defenders.

Chuikov signals the Front headquarters that he needs reinforcements, requesting 2 or 3 divisions. High Command commits the 92nd Rifle and 137th Tank Brigades, element of the former having already started to cross the Volga and enter the battle. The 92nd begins to take up positions to the left of the 13th Guards, while the 137th Tank is to the right, in the Tennis Racquet railway yards.

Under heavy German fire, Chuikov is again forced to relocate his headquarters, moving from the Tsaritsyn bunker to the north of the Krasnyi Oktyabr factory. Unbeknownst to the Soviets, the oil storage tanks on the hills over the headquarters are still full of fuel.

Fighting for the Central Railroad Station in Stalingrad

Air Operations, Europe

• 3 Mosquitos sent to bomb German ports; 1 bombs approximate position of Borkum; no losses.

• 115 aircraft involved in mine-laying operations from Lorient to Danzig.
• 2 Lancasters, 2 Stirlings and 1 Wellington are lost.

Air Operations, New Guinea

1 V Bomber Command B-17 attacks Salamaua and 1 B-25 strafes Japanese Army pack trains crossing the Owen Stanley Mountains.

Air Operations, North Africa

Canadian and British planes bomb Tobruk.

Air Operations, Solomons

During the night an RAAF Catalina based in New Guinea mounts the first flare-assisted night-bombing of its kind against Buka.

Australia, Home Front

New American reinforcements leave Brisbane bound for New Guinea.

Battle of the Atlantic

A German submarine mines the channel leading into Charleston, South Carolina. No damage is ever recorded as a result of the dozen mines sown, although only 4 are ever recovered.

Diplomatic Relations

Rumania and Turkey sign a trade agreement, with the Rumanians trading lubricating oil for Turkish cotton.

Eastern Front

At 0530 hours the 1st Guards Army launch new attacks north of Stalingrad with 5 rifle divisions supported by 1 tank corps and 3 tank brigades. Heavy German counter-fire bring he attack to an immediate halt, and the arrival of the Luftwaffe smash the Soviet units. A fierce German counterattack then throws the 1st Guards back to its start lines.

In an effort to reverse the flow of the bttle, the Soviets commit 2 tank corps but to no effect. Bitter fighting rages all day without any success.

In Stalingrad the fighting rages unabated. 10 attacks on the grain elevator fail to dislodge the 92nd Rifle Brigade. Heavy fighting also erupts on the Mamayev Kurgan and in the central railway station as the LI Corps launches repeated attacks against the 13th Guards Division. The Luftwaffe is particularly active against both these targets, blanket bombing the Soviet positions as German infantry wrestles the Soviets out of the ruins.

Toward the end of the day the 62nd Army is ordered to prepare a counterattack on its right wing to link up with the 1st Guards, 66th and 24th Armies. The attack is to strike out from the Mamayef Kurgan to the northeast.

Street Fighting in Stalingrad

Air Operations, Bismarcks

V Bomber Command B-17s attack Japanese Navy cargo ships near Umboi Island.

Air Operations, Europe

30 Finnish bombers are dispatched to Lavansaari Island in the Gulf of Finland. Many aircraft lose their way in the thick fog and crash land.

• 6 Mosquitos attempt first daylight bombing raid on Berlin; 2 turn back with mechanical trouble, 2 bomb Hamburg and 1 bombs Berlin area through thick cloud.
• 1 Mosquito lost probably to a German fighter.

• 118 aircraft to Saarbrücken - 72 Wellingtons, 41 Halifaxes and 5 Stirlings.
• Pathfinders report difficulty marking the target due to groung haze; bombing is scattered to the west of the target; Saarbrücken reports 13 houses destroyed and 27 seriously damaged, 1 person is killed.
• 3 Wellingtons and 2 Halifaxes are lost.
• 68 Lancaster and 21 Stirlings attack Munich.
• About 40% drop their loads within 3 miles of the city center; most fall on the western, eastern and southern suburbs of the city; no reports on the damage.
• 3 Lancasters and 3 Stirlings are lost.

Air Operations, Greece

During the night, USAMEAF B-24s attack Pylos Bay, Pylos Island and Khalones.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

British air raids on Sicily begin again as Catania and Licata are hit.

Eastern Front

Chuikov counterattacks with the 112th Rifle Division from the Mamayev Kurgan to the northeast, but is halted by fierce German fire. The attacks by the 1st Guards, 66th and 24th Armies are equally unsuccessful. Inside Stalingrad, the battle continues.

Luftwaffe Troops Securing Areas in Stalingrad

Air Operations, New Guinea

3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s bomb and strafe Japanese Army positions in the Owen Stanley Mountains. V Fighter Command P-40s strafe the airfield at Kokoda as well as bridges and Japanese Army ground troops in the Owen Stanley Mountains.

Air Operations, North Africa

Tobruk is raided by Allied bombers for the 7th time in 8 nights.

Allied Planning

Operational plans for Operation TORCH are issued. The landing in North Africa is to take place on November 8.

Battle of the Atlantic

The US freighter Silver Sword (4937t), in Convoy QP-14, is torpedoed and sunk by U-255 in the Greenland Sea. The British rescue ships Rathlin and Zamalek pick up all 32 crewmen and the 11-man Armed Guard and 18 passengers and take them to Glasgow.

Diplomatic Relations

Stalin continues to press Eden and Wendell Wilkie to open a second front.

Eastern Front

The bitter house-to-house fighting continues in Stalingrad where, as in Leningrad, Russian women fight side by side with the men. In the Caucasus the town of Terek, on the south bank of the Terek River, is captured by Army Group A.

Attacks by the 1st Guards and 24th Armies fail to break through to the 62nd Army. The 66th Army joins the attack with an equal lack of success.

At first light the Luftwaffe arrives over Stalingrad, bombing the central raiway station in force. Heavy artillery fire then joins the attack, closely followed by infantry and armor. Under ferocious fire, a single battalion of the 13th Guards Rifle Division attempts to hold out but is forced to give ground. Fighting as they fall back, the Soviet troops make a stand in the Nail Factory. German attacks rapidly envelop this position, hitting the Soviets from three sides as fighting rages on through the night. Fierce battles also continue in the grain elevator as elements of the 92nd Rifle Brigade fight on.

Greenland Sea

U-435 sinks the British minesweeper Leda, escorting Convoy QP-14, west of Bear Island with the loss of 14 of her crew. Survivors are picked up by the British rescue ships Rathlin and Zamalek.

Air Operations, Aleutians

28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack Amchitka's Constatine Harbor.

Air Operations, Europe

• 17 aircraft lay mines in Kiel Bay and off Denmark.
• 3 Wellingtons are lost.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Fighter Command P-40s attack bridges and trails in the Owen Stanley Mountains.

Baltic Sea

U-446 sinks after hitting an Allied air-laid mine.

U-446

Burma

The British begin their first land counteroffensive against the Japanese in the Arakan, an area along the Bay of Bengal coast. The offensive fails and the 14th Indian Division suffers heavy losses.

Indian Artillery Gunners

Eastern Front

The Russians continue to hold the Germans in the northwest suburbs of Stalingrad as house-to-house fighting breaks out.

The 11th Army begins its counterattack at Gaitolovo. Soviet forces in the salient are attacked on both flanks, XXVI and XXX Corps slicing through to isolate virtually the entire force. The constricted forces inside the pocket are subjected to ferocious artillery and air attack, suffering terrible casualties.

The 6th Army fends off more attacks by the 1st Guards, 24th and 66th Armies, keeping the German forces north of Stalingrad fully occupied.

Inside the city, the battle for the Nail Factory continues. The Soviet battalion is cut in two as hand-to-hand fighting rages through the ruined machinery and buildings. Under fierce attack, the Soviets abandon the factory. Elements fight to the end in the Univermaag store, while others fall back to the Volga, establishing strong positions on the corner of Krasnopiterskaya and Komsomolskaya Streets. The fighting here rages for five bloody days. Further heavy fighting also rages on the slopes of the Mamayev Kurgan and in the grain elevator.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

V Bomber Command B-17s attack airfields and shipping in the Rabaul area.

Air Operations, Europe

• 18 Bostons in low-level pairs attack power stations in France; 6 Mosquitos to Ijmuiden steelworks, 4 drop bombs there.
• 2 Bostons are lost.

2 31st Fighter Group Spitfires are scrambled to intercept a Luftwaffe Ju-88 medium bomber off Selsey Bill. A 'probable' is credited to one of the pilots.

Air Operations, Libya

USAMEAF B-24s attack Axis shipping in Benghazi harbor and claim hits on a large vessel and several smaller ships.

Air Operations, New Guinea

3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s attack Japanese Army bases at 5 locations in the Owen Stanley Mountains and 1 B-25 attacks the airfield at Buna and Sanananda. In another operation, V Fighter Command P-40s attack antiaircraft installations, barges and buildings at Buna and Salamaua and targets in the Owen Stanley Mountains.

Air Operations, North Africa

US and British bombers raid Benghazi.

Arctic Ocean

The US freighter Bellingham, in Convoy QP-14, is torpedoed and sunk by U-435 about 45 miles west of Jan Mayen Island. Escort vessels rescue the 39-man crew, the 10-man Armed Guard and 26 passengers who were survivors from other sunken ships.

Battle of the Atlantic

The US tanker Esso Williamsburg (11,237t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-211 about 500 miles south of Cape Farewell, Greenland. There are no survivors of the 42-man crew or the 18-man Armed Guard.

Eastern Front

Bitter fighting in Stalingrad continues as the Luftwaffe pounds the city. After a week of bitter fighting the Germans take the Stalingrad grain silo.

German Troops near the Stalingrad Grain Silo

The Luftwaffe is again active over Stalingrad, while the ground forces fight for every yard of the rubble-strewn city.

Air Operations, Europe

• During this period of bad weather, 3 small attacks are sent out without Pathfinders. 83 Lancasters are sent to Wismar.
• This is considered a successful attack on the Baltic coast town and the nearby Dornier aircraft factory; numerous fires are started including a large one in what is believed to be the aircraft factory; Wismar reports 32 houses and 8 industrial buildings seriously damaged; 67 people are killed and 109 injured.
• 4 Lancasters are lost.
• 28 Halifaxes are sent to Flensburg; 16 aircraft claim to have bombed the city.
• 5 planes are lost.
• 25 Stirlings are sent to Vegesack.
• 1 Stirling is lost.

• 25 Wellingtons and 8 Stirlings lay mines in many places between Biscay and Denmark.
• 2 Wellingtons are lost.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-17s and V Fighter Command P-39s, P-40s and P-400s attack the airfield and other targets at Buna and a bridge and various ground targets in the Owen Stanley Mountains and ground targets on Goodenough Island.

Air Operations, Solomons

11th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attach the Japanese Navy seaplane base at Rekata Bay, Santa Isabel.

Battle of the Atlantic

• Over the next few days 2 U-boat packs make repeated, but largely unsuccessful, attempts to destroy fast convoy RB-1 off Newfoundland. It is believed by the Germans to contain large troopships. 3 vessels and the escorting destroyer Veteran are sunk.
• The US freighter Antinous (6034t) is torpedoed by U-515 off Georgetown, British Guiana. The Armed Guard gunfire forces the submarine to submerge. All hands abandon the ship, but a volunteer crew returns to the ship to try to get her underway again.
• The US freighter Penmar (5868t), straggling from Convoy SC-100 and steering toward Cape Farewell, is torpedoed and sunk by U-432. 1 man dies as the ship is being abandonee, but 38 crewmen and the 22-man Armed Guard are rescued by the Coast Guard cutter Bibb (WPG-31) and taken to Iceland.

Diplomatic Relations

Wendell Willkie, a personal representative of Roosevelt, meets with Stalin at the Kremlin.

Eastern Front

The Russians mount a small counterattack in the northwest of Stalingrad from the district of Orlovka. This atack makes some progress but is fiercely resisted by the German troops.

Army Group A sends an assault group to take the port of Tuapse on the the Black Sea northwest of Sochi.

The Soviet 284th Rifle Division crosses the Volga at Stalingrad and, together with the 95th Rifle Division, drives the Germans back from the southern slopes of Mamayev Kurgan to the railway station. Farther south, the 42nd and 92nd Rifle Brigades are worn down by German fire and are amalgamated. In the Caucasus, Group Ruoff (Gen Richard) begins Operation ATTICA designed to destroy Soviet defenses in the Caucasus Mountains. Employing two corps of the 17th Army, they strike the 18th and 56th Armies but make little headway.[MORE]

German Infantry Trying to Find Cover

A Scene in Stalingrad

Guadalcanal

The Marines begin limited operations to the west of the Lunga perimeter to eliminate the enemy within striking distance of Henderson Field. The 1st Battalion of the 7th Marines, commanded by Lt-Col 'Chesty' Puller, is directed to advance along the northern slopes of Mount Austen, cross the Matanikau, and push west to Kokumbona. The 1st Raider Battalion is to establish a patrol base at Kokumbona at the point where the inland trails intersect the coastal road.

Madagascar

The 22nd East African Brigade takes the capital of Tananarive which is declared an open city when the governor surrenders after a 3-minute bombardment.

New Guinea

The Australians go over to the attack at Ioribaiwa, north of Port Moresby. The 128th Regiment of the US 32nd Division is air-lifted to Port Moresby. Gen Sir Thomas Blamey, the Australian Commander-in-Chief, takes personal charge with orders from MacArthur to invigorate the conduct of the campaign.

Pacific

The Australian destroyer Voyager is lost off Timor while attempting to land reinforcements for the Australian-Dutch 'Sparrow Force', which is waging war behind Japanese lines.

Air Operations, Aleutians

3 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack the Japanese base on Kiska.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

V Bomber Command B-17s attack ships at Rabaul.

Air Operations, Europe

FW-190 fighter-bombers raid 3 southeast England coastal towns.

• 51 aircraft are involved in mine-laying operations at Texel, the Frisians, Heligoland and the Baltic
• 1 Lancaster is lost.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-17s attack a beached cargo ship at Gona. A-20s and V Fighter Command P-40s attack Mubo while more P-40s attack the airfield at Kokoda, a bridge and trailside targets in the Owen Stanley Mountains.

Air Operations, North Africa

Benghazi is attacked by British bombers.

Air Operations, Solomons

4 11th Heavy Bomb B-17s attack cargo vessels near the Shortland Islands with the loss of 1 of the B-17s to an A6M Zero over Buin.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The US freighter John Winthrop (7176t), straggling from Convoy ON-131, is torpedoed and sunk by U-619 with the loss of the 39-man crew and the 13-man Armed Guard.
• U-175 torpedoes and sinks the US freighter West Chetac (5627t) north of British Guiana with the loss of 22 of her crew and 9 of the 11-man Armed Guard.
• The US freighter Antinous (6034t), torpedoed the previous day, is reboarded by a volunteer crew to try to get her going again and taken under tow by the British rescue tug Zwarte Zee. She is torpedoed again, this time by U-512, and the ship is again abandoned. She sinks later in the day.

Eastern Front

Fighting inside Stalingrad eases as Paulus regroups his bloodied divisions for the next phase of the offensive. With the 62nd Army defenses crumbling in the southern suburbs, the new assault will concentrate upon the factory district and Orlovka salient jutting out on the left wing of 6th Army's positions on the Volga.

Paulus moves the 16th Panzer Division opposite the right wing of the 62nd Army, while the fresh 389th Infantry Division moves out of reserve to deploy at Gorodische. The 295th Infantry Division, still around the Mamayef Kurgan, is reinforced with armor and the 71st and 76th Infantry Divisions grouped in the central railway station and central landing stages areas. The 71st is to attack the Red October factory, while the 100th Jaeger Division reinforces the attack on the Mamayev Kurgan. The 14th and 24th Panzer, 29th Motorized and 94th Infantry Divisions remain in the south. The 6th Army also assumes control of the XLVIII Panzer Corps divisions in the southern suburbs as the corps headquarters is withdrawn to redeploy in the rear of the 3rd Rumanian Army. This army takes over a large section of the Don line on the left wing of the 6th Army.

Hitler disimisses Halder as Chief of the General Staff. Zeitzler is appointed to the post.

Paulus' second attack upon Stalingrad, this time through the streets of the city, had again been uninspired and fatally flawed. Rather than using his established positions on the Volga to strike along the line of the river into the rear of the Soviet defenses, he had attacked directly from the west, channelling the 62nd Army into hedgehogs of defense. Chuikov, an expert in the art of street fighting, conducted small-scale actions throughout the city, breaking up the force of the German offensive into countless firefights. Thus was set the pattern at Stalingrad, of bludgeoning German attacks breaking against a wall of small, expertly lead combat teams in the ruins of the city. The Verdun of the east had begun.

Pavelic and von Paulus outside of Stalingrad

Air Operations, Aleutians

9 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s, a B-17 and a B-24 photo-reconnaissance bomber, escorted by 11 42nd Fighter Squadron P-39s and 11 RCAF 11th Squadron P-40s, attack Kiska. An 11th Fighter Squadron P-39 downs an A6M2-N 'Rufe' fighter-bomber about 1000 hours as dows an RCAF 11th Squadron P-40.

In a second attack against Kiska and neighboring Little Kiska, 2 B-24s, a B-17 and 15 P-39s attack shipping, buildings and stores severely damaging a transport with a direct hit. The P-39s also strafe 2 submarines at the Kiska submarine base and sink 5 float planes on the water.

Air Operations, CBI

4 11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s escorted by 10 23rd Fighter Squadron P-40s attack the Gia Lam airfield at Hanoi, French Indochina. 6 of 10 Ki-45 'Nick' fighters are shot down in the attack about 1515 hours.

Air Operations, Europe

• 4 Mosquitos leave Leuchars, Scotland to attack the Gestapo headquarters in Oslo.
• The raid is intended to boost morale for the Norwegians and to coincide with a rally of Norwegians who support the Germans. The planes are intercepted by FW-190s on their low-level bombing run and 1 Mosquito is shot down. 4 bombs hit the headquarters building, 3 passing through it, but all failed to explode.

Attack on Gestapo HQ

• 10 Wellingtons lay mines in the Frisians without a loss.
• The Germans attack Penzance in Cornwall in a night raid.

Air Operations, Libya

USAMEAF B-24s attack Benghazi.

Air Operations, New Guinea

One end of an often-attacked bridge at Wairopi in the Owen Stanley Mountains is destroyed in a direct hit by a V Fighter Command P-40.

Air Operations, Solomons

In the days action, 4 5th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack Japanese warships in Tonolei harbor, and 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack shipping in Buka Passage and strafe the seaplane base at Rekata Bay.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-253 sinks on a mine in a British field off Iceland.

U-253

Eastern Front

The Russian counterattack in the northwest area of Stalingrad continues to make progress. The Germans report bitter hand-to-hand fighting.

Chuikov learns of the desertion of the command of the 92nd Rifle Brigade but is unable to help the men of the brigade, who are still under heavy German attack.

Taking advantage of the lull, Chuikov regroups his army in preparation for the expected German attacks. The Mechetka River and Mamayev Kurgan sectors are reinforced and the defenses around the factories strengthened.

Between the Sarpa lakes, the 51st and 57th Armies begin a series of limited attacks aimed at gaining control of the high ground around the lakes in order to observe the movement of the 4th Rumanian Army. The capture of the hills is largely achieved by October 4 as the Rumanian VI Corps relinquishes ground readily, the Rumanians proving no match for the combat hardened Red Army.

A Bomb Falling on Stalingrad

Air Operations, Aleutians

11th Air Force aircraft attack a Japanese destroyer and freighter at sea.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

V Bomber Command B-17s attack airfields and shipping at Rabaul.

Air Operations, CBI

In support of ground operations, 4 11th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a Japanese-held village on the western bank of the Salween River in southwestern China.

Air Operations, Europe

• 28 Halifaxes of 4 Group sent to hit Flensburg.
• The raid is recalled, but 1 plane continues and bombs the target area.
• 1 plane is lost.
• 52 Wellingtons and 19 Stirlings lay mines in the Frisians and off Denmark.
• 1 Wellington is lost.
• An RAF high-altitude fighter sweep over France has to be abandoned due to severe icing.
• 11 aircraft are lost.

Air Operations, New Guinea

In support of Australian Army ground operations, 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s bomb and strafe Japanese troops in the Owen Stanley Mountains.

Air Operations, Solomons

8 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack shipping in Tonolei harbor.

Battle of the Atlantic

The British destroyer Veteran, escorting Convoy RB-1, is sent to rescue survivors from 2 steamers. She rescues 48 from Boston and 30 from New York and is returning to the convoy when she is sunk by U-404 west of Ireland. All 235 members of the crew are lost along with those picked up from the steamers.

Britian, Home Front

Prebendary Carlile, founder of the Church Army and known as the 'Archbishop of the Gutter', dies at age 95.

Diplomatic Relations

Wendell Willkie, speaking in Moscow, calls for the launching of a 'Second Front' without delay. 'Next year may be too late.'

Guadalcanal

The 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, and elements of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, reach the upper Matanikau and push north along the east bank, encountering enemy fire from the vicinity of Matanikau village. Artillery and aircraft are used against the enemy positions. The 1st Raider Battalion passes through the 5th Regiment sector to join in the attack. The Japanese are waiting for the Raiders on a hill near the bridge that the marines were to use to cross. The Japanese ambush the force which suffers heavy casualties including Lt-Col S. B. Griffith, commanding the 1st Raiders, who is wounded and Maj Kenneth Bailey who is killed. The Raiders retreat to the mouth of the Matanikau.

Air Operations, Aleutians

14 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s and 1 B-17, sent in two waves, attack shore and harbor facilities at Kiska. 13 of 18 fighter escorts abort due to bad weather.

Air Operations, CBI

4 11th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Japanese Army ground forces and a supply convoy at Mengshih and claim 400 soldiers killed and 30 trucks destroyed. B-25s also attack Tengchung. 23rd Fighter Group P-40s claim 15 trucks destroyed and 5 groups of barracks damaged in strafing attacks along the Burma Road in southwestern China.

Air Operations, Libya

USAMEAF B-24s attack an 8,000-ton vessel in Benghazi harbor but fail to score any hits.

Air Operations, New Guinea

3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s attack 4 ground targets in the Owen Stanley Mountains in support of Australian ground forces.

Air Operations, Solomons

After nearly two weeks of bad weather, 18 Rabaul-based G4M 'Betty' bombers escorted by 27 A6M Zeros renew their attacks against Guadalcanal. They are met by 16 Marine Corps F4Fs and 18 VF-5 F4Fs. Marine Corps F4Fs down 6 'Bettys' and 2 Zeros about 1400 hours. VF-5 F4Fs down 4 Zeros during the same attack. Bombs destroy 1 SBD and damage 3 others along with 5 TBFs.

Aleutians

Japanese forces at Attu begin secretly transferring to Kiska to strengthen the garrison there.

Atlantic

The US freighter Stephen Hopkins engages the German auxiliary cruiser Stier and supply ship Tannenfels in a surface gunnery action in the central South Atlantic on the shipping lande between Capetown, South Africa and Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana. The Stephen Hopkins is sunk by the Stier, but the German ship also sinks from the damage received in the exchange.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-165 is sunk by depth charges from Wellington 'Q' of Squadron 311 in the Bay of Biscay.

U-165

Eastern Front

Expecting the renewal of the German attack on the factory district, at 0600 hours Chuikov begins a spoiling attack in order to disrupt the German assault. While the 62nd Army tries to pin the Germans down, the 36th Guards Rifle Division of the 64th Army attempts to retake Kuporosnoye. After heavy fighting at 0800 hours, the Luftwaffe arrives over the city and begins to pound the Soviets, pinning down the 62nd Army. The 64th Army also fails to break the German positions. Furious attacks with aircraft and artillery strike the Mamayev Kurgan followed by an armored attack with 150 panzers upon the factory district. Throughout the morning, the 95th Rifle Division is almost wiped out on the Mamayev Kurgan, the Germans flailing away with the 100th Jaeger, 295th Infantry and 24th Panzer Divisions. By mid-afternoon, panzers penetrate to the western wall of the Red October factory, reaching the Banny Gully and southwestern corner of the Barrikady factory, where they are involved in heavy fighting. At dusk the 95th Rifle has been forced off the summit of Mamayev Kurgan and only holds the northern and eastern slopes.

The remnants of the 92nd Rifle Division disintegrate, allowing the Germans to reach the Volga on a 5-mile front south of the river. The 10th NKVD Division continues to fight on in the German rear south of the Tsaritsyn.

By the end of the day the 6th Army has bludgeoned its way a few hundred yards forward at a cost of 2,000 killed and 50 panzers destroyed. Chuikov calls upon the Southwest Front to support his hard pressed army. During the night the 193rd Rifle Division begins to cross the Volga, taking up positions in the Red October coke houses.

In the Caucasus, the 13th Panzer Division, 370th Infantry and the 5th SS Wiking Motorized Divisions fight their way into Elchetovo and capture the town. The Germans lack the strength to punch their way forward to Ordzhonikidzhe.

Germany, Command

Gen Frans Halder, COGS, is replaced by Gen Kurt von Zeitzler who had been appointed on the 24th.

German Raiders

In one of the most notable small actions of the war the Liberty ship Stephen Hopkins, armed with only 1 4-inch gun, fights an attack by the much more powerful German raider Stier which has 6 5.9-in guns and 2 torpedo tubes. Both ships sink. In its cruise Stier has sunk 4 ships of 29,400 tons. The German crew is rescued by the SS Tannenfels, but the Americans make a 31-day voyage to Brazil. 15 out of a crew of 57 survive.

Gilbert Islands

The Japanese take Kuria Island, having taken Maiana on the 24th and Beru on the 25th.

Guadalcanal

The 1st Raider Battalion attempts to attack enemy strongpoints in Matanikau village area from the rear but is unable to cross the river. The 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, attacks frontally at the river mouth but cannot force a crossing. 3 companies of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, lands near Point Cruz and takes the ridge inland from the beach but is prevented from advancing further by enemy fire. They call for help by spelling word out the word in a grassy meadow using clothing. They are signalled from the seaplane tender(?) (destroyer?) Monssen (DD-436) by Puller, who is now on board, to move down the coast while their retreat is covered by guns from the ship. The marines also call Henderson for air support to help in their retreat. With naval and air support the battalion returns to shore and re-embarks for Kukum. The 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, covers the withdrawal of the 1st Raider Battalion and returns during the night to the Lunga perimeter.

Air Operations, Aleutians

28th Composite Bomb Group heavy bombers attack Attu and Kiska islands. A 54th Fighter Squadron P-38 downs an A6M Zero and a 57th Fighter Squadron P-39 downs 2 A6M2-N 'Rufe' fighers over Kiska. 1 P-39 is lost in the day's action.

Air Operations, Europe

• 6 Wellingtons are sent to Lingen on the Dortmund-Ems Canal.
• Only 1 aircraft bombs ships in the area.
• 1 aircraft is lost.

Air Operations, New Guinea

1 V Bomber Command B-17 attack the airfield at Lae and V Fighter Command P-40s and P-400s bomb and strafe several targets in the Owen Stanley Mountains in support of Australian ground forces.

Air Operations, Solomons

27 G4M 'Betty' bombers, based Kavieng, New Ireland, escorted by 42 A6M Zeros, attack Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. All 19 of the Marine Corps F4Fs and 15 serviceable VF-5 F4Fs are in the air to meet the attack. Marine Corps pilots claim 14 'Bettys' and 1 Zero while the VF-5 pilots claim 10 'Bettys'. Japanese records only record 4 'Bettys' lost in the action with 3 more having to ditch on the flight back to Kavieng. No F4Fs are lost.

Battle of the Atlantic

The US freighter Alcoa Mariner is torpedoed and sunk by U-175 about 20 miles off the mouth of the Orinoco River, Venezuela. All hands, 41 crewmen and 13 Armed Guard sailors, survive the loss of the ship and are picked up by the Canadian motorship Turret Cape.

Germany, Strategy

The German Naval High Command including leaders of the U-boat arm, meet with Hitler in Berlin to discuss new trends in the Battle of the Atlantic and the deterioration of the U-boat impact on Allied convoys.

Eastern Front

In a small attack, Russian forces cross the Volga near Rzhev in the central sector and capture 25 villages. Heavy fighting continues around Leningrad. The Germans throw in fresh reinforcements at Stalingrad.

The Germans resume their attacks in Stalingrad with massed infantry and armor supported by artillery and air strikes. The Luftwaffe is active, trying to locate Chuikov's headquarters. Heavy raids are launched against the Volga ferries, incurring heavy losses upon the barges bringing reinforcements and supplies to the 62nd Army.

In the factory district, the Germans attack the Red October and Silikat factories, penetrating the southeastern edge of the Silikat. In the center, the 95th and 284th Rifle Divisions counterattack on the Mamayev Kurgan but are stopped short of the summit.

With the battle for Stalingrad at its height, the Stavka redesignates its forces in the Stalingrad sector. Gen Andrey Yeremenko's Southeast Front becomes the new Stalingrad Front, while the old Stalingrad Front is renamed the Don Front, commanded by Gen Konstantin Rokossovsky. The 2 fronts number 771,000 men, 8,100 artillery pieces, 525 tanks and 448 aircraft deployed between 78 rifle and 6 cavalry division, 5 tank corps and 18 tank brigades. The Stalingrad Front is allocated the 8th and 16th Air Armies to provide increased cover against the VIII Air Corps. The new Don Front comprises 39 rifle divisions, 3 cavalry divisions and 3 tank corps, 9 tank brigades and 2 rifle brigades. Its 63rd Army holds a 100-mile sector of the right wing, the 21st Army a 70-mile sector around Serafimovich and the 4th Tank Army, 24th Army and 66th Army are between the Volga and the Don. The 1st Guards Army is pulled out of the line and transferred to reserve.

Since August 7 the 'old' Southeast Front has lost 110,000 killed and missing and 62,000 wounded.

Air Operations, Aleutians

3 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack a Japanese Navy transport at sea, but do not score any hits.

Air Operations, Europe

• A school is bombed at Petworth, Sussex. 31 children and 2 teachers are killed and 28 children are injured.
• Americans of the 3 Eagle Squadrons of the RAF are transferred to US command.

• 14 Lancasters lay mine in the Baltic off Bornholm, Sassnitz and Swinemünde.
• 1 plane is lost.

Air Operations, Greece

USAMEAF B-24s attack port facilities at Suda Bay.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-17s attack the airfield at Salamaua and Buna. 1 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20 attacks Menari.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 10 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack transports and a Japanese Navy warship in the Shortland Islands. 1 B-17 is lost.
• During the afternoon a fighter sweep by 26 A6M Zeros based at Rabaul and Kavieng is challenged by 33 Cactus Air Force F4Fs, but only 14 are in position to intercept. 1 Zero is shot down to the loss of 1 F4F and its pilot.

China

Chinese troops inflict heavy losses on Japanese units attacking from Kinhwa.

Guadalcanal

American forces on the island now number more than 19,000, with another 3,260 manning Tulagi. The Seabees (construction battalions) are turning Henderson Field into a fully operational airport, though the runway is often broken up by Japanese bombs.

Eastern Front

Fighting at Stalingrad spreads to the Orlovka salient. The 5-mile long and 2-mile wide salient is held by the remnants of the 112th Rifle Division and the 115th Rifle Brigade. This small force is struck by the 16th Panzer, 60th Motorized and 389th and 100th Infantry Divisions from the north and south.

39th Guards Rifle Division

Furious battles develop as the Soviets put up a stiff defense. Two battalions of the 115th are hit from the north and south and fall back, one battalion retreating into Orlovka itself. The penetrating German attacks threaten to isolate the Soviet units.

Farther south, the fighting on the Mamayev Kurgan continues, while the 193rd Rifle Division is forced back into the western edge of the Red October factory. During the afternoon a large air attack hits the Tractor factory, setting the factory buildings on fire.

Even farther south, the 57th and 51st Armies gain ground around the Sarpa lakes as the Rumanian VI Corps falls back.

Once again Paulus made the same mistake, herding the defenders of Orlovka back towards the river rather that prising them away from it.

Air Operations, Aleutians

7 of 9 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s sent against Kiska and Attu attack their targets. 8 Japanese Navy fighters attack the bombers, but there are no losses. Japanese aircraft mount the first of many nuisance raids against the airfield on Adak.

Air Operations, Europe

• 20 Wellingtons and 5 Stirlings lay mines off Texel and in the Frisians.
• 1 Stirling and 1 Wellington are lost.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-17s and A-20s, and V Fighter Command P-40s attack the Wairopi bridge and 4 occupied villages in the Owen Stanley Mountains.

Air Operations, North Africa

Capt Hans-Joachim Marseille, Germany's top fighter 'ace' in North Africa, is killed bailing out of an Me-109 with a faulty engine. He was credited with 151 victories which included 7 over the English Channel. He was 22.

Wreckage of Bf 109G-6 Fighter

Aleutian Islands

The Japanese carry out the first of a series of 'nuisance raids' on Adak Island.

Diplomatic Relations

Turkey signs a trade agreement with Germany, exchanging chrome for armaments.

Eastern Front

The Germans launch stron attacks into the Orlovka salient, the Luftwaffe striking the 115th Brigade in Orlovka. While units tackle the Soviets in the village, others push along the Orlovka gully in the direction of the Tractor and Barrikady factories. To support the developing attacks, the Germans bring the 94th Infantry and 14th Panzer Divisions up from the south to support their attacks.

Chuikov brings more forces across the Volga to reinforce his shattered front units. The re-formed 42nd Rifle Brigade is moved into the northwestern sector of the city to re-enter the fighting in the factories, while the 92nd Brigade is sent up to relieve the XXIII Tank Corps. The 39th Guards Division is also committed, with 4,000 men, to take up positions just west of the Red October factory to support the 193rd Rifle Division.

Smoke Rising from Stalingrad

The Stavka plans to form a new Southwest Front based upon the headquarters of the 1st Guards in the Kletskaya and Verkhnaya Maman sectors, but keeps its existence secret until the counteroffensive is due. In the Stavka reserve, and destined for the south, are the 3rd and 5th Tank Armies and the 43rd Army from the Central Sector.

During the third quarter of 1942, the Red Army and Navye lost 1,224,495 killed and missing and 1,283,062 wounded.

From December 1941 to the end of September 1942, Army Group North has suffered 375,000 casualties but replaced only 270,000, while Army Group Center has lost 765,000 men and replaced 480,000.