Military operations
Category
(1014)1944
January
- 20
- The raid on Berlin of 20 JanuaryOn the night of 20–21 January 1944 the RAF sent 769 bombers to Berlin. They reportedly dropped about 2,300 tons of bombs; 35 aircraft were lost.
- The bloody Rapido River crossingOn 20–22 January 1944 the US 36th Infantry Division tried to cross the Gari near Sant'Angelo. It lost about 1,700 men and failed to win a bridgehead.
February
- 15
- Key eventThe destruction of the Abbey of Monte CassinoOn 15 February 1944 Allied bombers destroyed the Benedictine abbey on Monte Cassino. Civilians died, the Germans took over the ruins, and the attack failed.
- The offensive at NarvaOn 15 February 1944 the 2nd Shock Army launched a general assault on the German defences at Narva. By late February it had failed to cut the road to Tallinn.
- 16
- Operation FischfangOn 16 February 1944 the German Fourteenth Army struck down the Albano road at the Anzio beachhead. After five days the Allies held and the attack collapsed.
- The breakout from the Korsun pocketOn the night of 16/17 February 1944 the German corps trapped at Korsun broke out of the pocket. About two-thirds of the men escaped; their equipment was lost.
- 18
- The sinking of HMS PenelopeOn 18 February 1944 U-410 torpedoed the cruiser Penelope west of Naples as she returned to Anzio. 417 men were killed and 206 survived.
- Key eventOperation Hailstone – the raid on TrukOn 17–18 February 1944 Mitscher's carriers wrecked the Truk base, sinking dozens of ships and destroying over 250 aircraft. Truk was then bypassed.
- 26
- Key eventBig WeekFrom 20 to 25 February 1944 US and RAF bombers struck the German aircraft industry. The Luftwaffe lost hundreds of fighters and pilots it could not replace.
- The raids on HelsinkiOn the night of 26/27 February 1944 Soviet aircraft bombed Helsinki for the third time that month. Air defences and decoy fires saved most of the city.
March
- 06
- Operation Thursday – the second Chindit expeditionOn the night of 5–6 March 1944 gliders of the US 1st Air Commando landed Wingate's Chindits deep in Burma. The second expedition behind Japanese lines began.
- The destruction of NarvaOn the night of 6–7 March 1944 Soviet bombers reduced the emptied town of Narva to rubble. Yet the Leningrad Front's March attacks failed to break the defence.
- 08
- The fighting for Hill 700On 8 March 1944 the Japanese struck the US beachhead at Torokina on Bougainville. They attacked Hill 700 until 13 March; the whole counter-offensive failed.
- The offensive in Right-Bank UkraineIn early March 1944 three Ukrainian Fronts of the Red Army struck west of the Dnieper. In the spring mud the Germans fell back towards the Bug and the Dniester.
- 15
- The third battle of Monte CassinoOn 15 March 1944 bombers flattened the town of Cassino and the New Zealand Corps attacked. Until 23 March German paratroopers held the ruins and the abbey.
- The capture of ManusOn 15 March 1944 US cavalry landed on Manus. Lorengau fell on 18 March, and Seeadler Harbour became one of the largest fleet bases in the Pacific.
- 22
- The Japanese cross into IndiaIn late March 1944 Japanese divisions entered Manipur. At Sangshak a parachute brigade held them for a week, and the 17th Division fought its way to Imphal.
- The raids on FrankfurtOn the night of 22/23 March 1944, 816 RAF aircraft burned Frankfurt's old town. About 1,000 people died that night, over 1,400 in the two March night raids.
April
May
- 12
- The Chinese cross the SalweenOn the night of 10/11 May 1944 General Wei Lihuang's Chinese Expeditionary Force began crossing the Salween in Yunnan to reopen the Burma Road.
- The end of the fighting in the CrimeaOn 12 May 1944 the last 17th Army units on the Chersonese surrendered. The Crimea was in Soviet hands; many Axis troops were evacuated, thousands drowned.
- 18
- Key eventThe capture of Monte CassinoOn 18 May 1944 a patrol of the 12th Podolian Uhlans entered the ruins of the abbey, abandoned by the Germans overnight. The battle of Monte Cassino was over.
- The Myitkyina airfieldOn 17 May 1944 Merrill's Marauders and the Chinese 150th Regiment seized the airfield at Myitkyina by surprise. The town held out for almost three more months.
- The end of the fighting in the Admiralty IslandsOn 18 May 1944 General Krueger declared the Admiralty Islands operation over. Japanese stragglers still hid in the jungle; Seeadler Harbour became a fleet base.
June
- 04
- Key eventThe Allies in RomeOn 4 June 1944 the US Fifth Army entered Rome, which the Germans had left without fighting in the city – the first Axis capital taken by the Allies.
- The capture of U-505On 4 June 1944 a US carrier group led by USS Guadalcanal forced U-505 to surface off Africa. A boarding party seized the boat, its Enigma and codes.
- 19
- Key eventThe Battle of the Philippine SeaOn 19–20 June 1944 the US Task Force 58 shattered Ozawa's carrier air groups west of the Marianas. Japan lost three carriers and several hundred aircraft.
- The Channel stormThe storm of 19–22 June 1944 wrecked the American Mulberry A artificial harbour off Omaha and almost halted the unloading of supplies in Normandy for days.
- 22
- Key eventOperation Bagration beginsOn 22 June 1944, the third anniversary of Germany's attack on the USSR, four Soviet fronts opened an offensive in Belarus against Army Group Centre.
- The end of the siege of ImphalOn 22 June 1944 the British 2nd Division from Kohima and the 5th Indian Division from Imphal met at Milestone 109. The siege of Imphal was over.
- 26
- The liberation of CherbourgOn 26 June 1944 General von Schlieben surrendered at Cherbourg. The Allies took the port, wrecked by the Germans, after three weeks of fighting on the Cotentin.
- The bombing of San MarinoAt the end of June 1944 Allied bombers attacked neutral San Marino in the belief that Germans were stationed there. Several dozen people were killed.
July
- 03
- Key eventThe liberation of MinskOn 3 July 1944 Soviet troops entered ruined Minsk. East of the city some 100,000 soldiers of the German Fourth Army were trapped in a pocket.
- The Battle of the HedgerowsOn 3 July 1944 the US First Army attacked through the Normandy hedgerows towards La Haye-du-Puits and Saint-Lô. Every kilometre cost hundreds of casualties.
- The capture of SienaOn 3 July 1944 soldiers of the 3rd Algerian Infantry Division of the French Expeditionary Corps entered Siena, which the Germans had abandoned overnight.
- 07
- Operation Ostra BramaOn 7 July 1944 Home Army units attacked Wilno to take it before the Red Army. The same day the spearheads of the 3rd Belorussian Front reached the city.
- The last attack on SaipanOn 6 July 1944 General Saitō ordered a final attack. Before dawn on 7 July at least 3,000 Japanese struck the Americans on the Tanapag plain.
- 09
- The capture of CaenOn 9 July 1944 British and Canadian troops in Operation Charnwood took ruined northern Caen up to the Orne – a city that was meant to fall on D-Day.
- The end of the fighting on SaipanOn 9 July 1944 Admiral Turner declared Saipan secured. Almost the whole Japanese garrison was dead; in the north hundreds of civilians took their own lives.
- 10
- The Battle of the Driniumor RiverOn the night of 10–11 July 1944 the starving Japanese 18th Army struck across the Driniumor at the Americans near Aitape, New Guinea, and broke their line.
- B-29 raids from ChinaOn the night of 7–8 July 1944 B-29s from airfields near Chengdu bombed Kyushu again. Tokyo was not a target – B-29s first appeared over it in November 1944.
- 13
- The capture of WilnoOn 13 July 1944 the Red Army, supported by Home Army units, took Wilno. Days later the NKVD arrested the Wilno Home Army command and disarmed its soldiers.
- The Lwów–Sandomierz offensive beginsOn 13 July 1944 Marshal Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front advanced on Rawa Ruska and Lwów, opening the offensive that drove the Germans out of Eastern Galicia.
- 24
- The landing on TinianOn 24 July 1944 US Marines landed on the narrow beaches of northern Tinian, having deceived the defenders with a feint landing off Tinian Town.
- Key eventOperation CobraOn 24 July 1944 bombs from Operation Cobra's first raid fell on Americans near Saint-Lô. On 25 July First Army attacked; on 28 July it took Coutances.
- The fall of NarvaOn 24 July 1944 the Leningrad Front attacked Narva. It was repulsed at Auvere, but the Germans fell back to the Tannenberg Line; on 26 July it took the ruins.
August
- 01
- Key eventThe Warsaw Uprising beginsAt 5 p.m. on 1 August 1944 Home Army units attacked the Germans in Warsaw to liberate the capital before the Red Army entered it.
- The capture of KaunasOn 1 August 1944 the 5th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front took Kaunas, Lithuania's former capital, weeks after the Germans liquidated its ghetto camp.
- The end of the fighting on TinianOn 1 August 1944 the Americans declared Tinian taken. Almost the entire garrison was killed, and the island became one of the largest B-29 bases.
- 04
- The liberation of FlorenceOn 4 August 1944 New Zealanders and South Africans entered southern Florence. Overnight the Germans blew the Arno bridges; only the Ponte Vecchio survived.
- The liberation of RennesOn 4 August 1944 the US 8th Infantry Division entered Rennes, abandoned by the Germans overnight, as Patton's Third Army spread across Brittany.
- 10
- The end of the fighting on GuamOn 10 August 1944 the Americans declared organised resistance on Guam at an end. The next day General Obata died in the Mataguac caves.
- The raid on PalembangOn the night of 10–11 August 1944 B-29s from Ceylon attacked the Pladjoe refinery at Palembang and mined the Musi River. The refinery suffered little damage.
- 15
- Key eventOperation DragoonOn 15 August 1944 the US VI Corps landed in Provence between Cavalaire and Saint-Raphaël. Resistance was weak, and losses on the first day were light.
- The Allies before the Gothic LineIn mid-August 1944 the Allies stood on the Arno and Metauro, before the Gothic Line's outworks. Eighth Army was secretly regrouping on the Adriatic to attack.
September
- 03
- The liberation of BrusselsOn the evening of 3 September 1944 tanks of the British Guards Armoured Division drove into Brussels. The Americans had entered Belgium the day before.
- The liberation of LyonOn 3 September 1944 the 1st Free French Division, Americans and the FFI entered Lyon. The Germans had left the day before, blowing the Rhône and Saône bridges.
- 04
- The end of Operation OutwardOn 4 September 1944 the last Operation Outward balloons were launched from England. In two and a half years the British had sent 99,142 balloons over Europe.
- The liberation of AntwerpOn 4 September 1944 the British 11th Armoured Division and the Belgian Resistance took Antwerp, its port almost intact. The Scheldt estuary stayed German.
- 08
- The liberation of OstendOn 8 September 1944 Canadian armoured cars entered Ostend, abandoned by the Germans without a fight. On 9 September Canadian infantry occupied the town.
- The Red Army in BulgariaOn 8 September 1944 the Red Army entered Bulgaria unopposed, three days after the USSR declared war on it. That evening Sofia declared war on Germany.
- Key eventThe first V-2 rocketsOn 8 September 1944 Germany first used V-2 rockets in combat. The first fell near Paris; that evening two struck England, killing three people in Chiswick.
- 10
- The liberation of LuxembourgOn 10 September 1944 the US 5th Armored Division entered Luxembourg City. The Germans left without a fight, and Prince Felix returned with the Americans.
- The armies meet near DijonOn 10–12 September 1944 the forces from Provence linked up in Burgundy with Patton's Third Army. The Allied front now ran from the Channel to Switzerland.
- 15
- Key eventThe landing on PeleliuOn 15 September 1944 the US 1st Marine Division landed on Peleliu in Palau. The fight against defenders hidden in caves lasted two and a half months.
- The Lapland War beginsOn 15 September 1944 the deadline for German troops to leave Finland expired and the Kriegsmarine attacked Suursaari. Former allies turned on each other.
- The liberation of NancyOn 15 September 1944 Patton's Third Army entered Nancy. Fighting went on along the Moselle, and from 18 September a tank battle raged at Arracourt.
- 17
- Key eventOperation Market Garden beginsOn 17 September 1944 the Allies dropped three airborne divisions in the Netherlands and XXX Corps set off towards the Rhine. The goal was the bridge at Arnhem.
- The fighting in San MarinoOn 17–20 September 1944 the 4th Indian Division drove the Germans out of neutral San Marino. On 21 September the republic reportedly declared war on Germany.
- 22
- The capture of TallinnOn 22 September 1944 the Red Army entered Tallinn, abandoned by the Germans. By 26 September it held mainland Estonia; on 27 September it moved on the islands.
- The surrender of BoulogneOn 22 September 1944 the Boulogne garrison surrendered to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. Calais fell on 30 September; Dunkirk was besieged until May 1945.
October
- 02
- Key eventThe surrender of the Warsaw UprisingOn 2 October 1944 an agreement ending the Warsaw Uprising was signed at Ożarów. The Home Army received combatant rights; the city's people were expelled.
- The attack on AachenOn 2 October 1944 the US XIX Corps attacked the West Wall on the Wurm north of Aachen, opening the manoeuvre to encircle the city.
- The Allies in Crete and the PeloponneseIn autumn 1944 the British entered Patras and Corinth, while the Germans on Crete fell back around Chania, where they held out until May 1945.
- 06
- At the Dukla PassOn 6 October 1944 troops of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps and the 38th Army crossed the Dukla Pass into Slovakia after a month of bloody fighting.
- The Battle of Debrecen beginsOn 6 October 1944 the 2nd Ukrainian Front advanced on Debrecen. Pliyev's group broke the Hungarian Third Army, but the Germans held Oradea.
- 12
- The liberation of AthensOn 12 October 1944 the Germans left Athens and EAM and ELAS took the streets; the British arrived on 14 October and Papandreou's government on 18 October.
- The raids on FormosaOn 12–16 October 1944 Halsey's carriers crushed Japanese air power over Formosa. Tokyo announced 11 carriers sunk – in reality, not one.
- 20
- Key eventThe landing on LeyteOn 20 October 1944 the US Sixth Army landed on Leyte. General MacArthur waded ashore and told the Filipinos by radio: “I have returned”.
- Key eventThe liberation of BelgradeOn 20 October 1944, after a week of street fighting, the Red Army and Tito's Partisans drove the Germans from Belgrade, free after 3.5 years of occupation.
- 23
- Key eventThe Battle of Leyte Gulf beginsThe Battle of Leyte Gulf began on 23–24 October 1944. US submarines sank two of Kurita's heavy cruisers, and Halsey's aircraft sank the battleship Musashi.
- B-29s in the MarianasIn autumn 1944 B-29 bombers arrived on Saipan to raid Japan. The first landed on 12 October; the first raid on Tokyo came on 24 November. Tinian opened in 1945.
- The liberation of Novi SadOn 23 October 1944 Yugoslav Partisans, followed by Red Army soldiers, entered Novi Sad, the capital of Bačka, which Hungary had seized in 1941.
- 25
- The Battle off SamarOn 25 October 1944 three actions were fought in the Battle of Leyte Gulf – in the Surigao Strait, off Samar and off Cape Engaño. Kamikaze attacks began.
- The liberation of RomaniaOn 25 October 1944 Romanian and Red Army troops took Carei and Satu Mare. Northern Transylvania, ceded to Hungary in 1940, returned to Romanian hands.
November
- 01
- The British in SalonikaOn 30 October ELAS and a small British unit entered Salonika. By 2 November Army Group E had left mainland Greece; island garrisons held out until 1945.
- Operation InfatuateOn 1 November 1944 British commandos landed on Walcheren at Vlissingen and Westkapelle. South of the Scheldt the Canadians took Knokke and Zeebrugge.
- 05
- The raid on SingaporeOn 5 November 1944 B-29s from India bombed the Singapore naval base, disabling its great dry dock for three months – the first of a series of raids.
- Kamikaze attack the carriersOn 5 November 1944 a kamikaze hit Lexington off Luzon. On 25 November suicide aircraft struck Intrepid, Essex, Cabot and Hancock.
- 23
- The capture of MetzOn 22 November 1944 organised German resistance ended in Metz, which the Third Army had entered on 18–19 November. Some forts held out until 13 December.
- Key eventThe liberation of StrasbourgOn 23 November 1944 General Leclerc's French 2nd Armoured Division burst into Strasbourg. A flag flew over the cathedral – the Oath of Kufra was fulfilled.
- 25
- Nanning and the threat to KunmingOn 24 November 1944 the Japanese took Nanning again. After Guilin and Liuzhou fell, their push into Guizhou threatened Guiyang and the road to Kunming.
- The capture of SaaremaaOn the night of 23–24 November 1944 the Germans evacuated the Sõrve peninsula. All of Saaremaa, most of it taken on 5–8 October, was now in Soviet hands.
December
- 15
- The landing on MindoroOn 15 December 1944 the Americans landed unopposed near San Jose on Mindoro. Airfields on the island were to cover the coming invasion of Luzon.
- The loss of RuhnuOn 15 December 1944 the Germans left Ruhnu in the Gulf of Riga, the last scrap of Estonia they held. Soviet troops took the island on 19 December.
- 24
- The counter-offensive in the ArdennesOn 24 December 1944 Collins’s VII Corps resolved to strike the German 2nd Panzer Division at Celles. Patton had been driving on Bastogne since 22 December.
- The sinking of the LeopoldvilleOn 24 December 1944 U-486 torpedoed the Belgian troopship Leopoldville off Cherbourg. 763 soldiers of the US 66th Infantry Division were killed.
- V-1s over ManchesterOn Christmas Eve 1944 Heinkels over the North Sea launched 45 V-1s at Manchester. More than 40 people were killed, most of them in Oldham.