United Kingdom
Tag
(515)1944
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
- 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.
- 06
- From blackout to dim-outOn 6 September 1944 London announced an easing of the blackout and suspended compulsory Home Guard training. From 17 September a “dim-out” replaced it.
- The liberation of Ghent and LiègeOn 6 September 1944 the British 7th Armoured Division liberated Ghent. Liège fell on 7–8 September to the US 3rd Armored Division, not to British troops.
- 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.
- 21
- The capture of RiminiOn 21 September 1944 a Greek mountain brigade and Canadians of the Eighth Army entered ruined Rimini. The Gothic Line on the Adriatic broke, but the rains came.
- The second phase of the Dumbarton Oaks ConferenceIn September 1944 the Dumbarton Oaks talks entered their final phase. From 29 September China discussed the draft of the future UN with the US and Britain.
October
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.
December
- 03
- Key eventThe Dekemvriana beginsOn 3 December 1944 police opened fire on an EAM rally in Syntagma Square, Athens. At least 28 people died, and fighting broke out in the city – the Dekemvriana.
- The stand-down of the Home GuardOn 3 December 1944 George VI took the Home Guard's farewell parade in Hyde Park. The volunteer home defence force stood down; it was disbanded in 1945.