September 1944

September

• 01

  • The Canadians in DieppeOn 1 September 1944 the 2nd Canadian Division entered Dieppe unopposed, scene of its bloody defeat two years earlier. The Germans had left the day before.
• 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 ceasefire between Finland and the USSROn 4 September 1944 the Finns ceased fire along the whole front. The Red Army fired on until 5 September, and a Finnish delegation set off for Moscow.
  • 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.
• 05

  • The Uprising after the fall of the Old TownIn early September 1944 Warsaw fought on after losing the Old Town. Powiśle fell on 5–6 September, and in starving Śródmieście talk of surrender began.
  • New American corps in Europe and the PacificIn September 1944 the US III and XVI Corps staffs left for Europe and IX Corps for the Pacific. XXI Corps reached Europe only in November.
  • The Benelux Customs ConventionOn 5 September 1944 in London the exiled governments of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg signed a customs convention that gave rise to Benelux.
• 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.
• 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.
• 09

  • De Gaulle's government of national unityOn 9 September 1944 de Gaulle recast the Provisional Government as a “national unity” cabinet of Resistance leaders, communists and Bidault at foreign affairs.
  • The Fatherland Front coup in BulgariaOn the night of 8/9 September 1944 Zveno officers and communists seized power in Sofia under Kimon Georgiev. The Red Army entered on 15–16 September.
• 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.
• 11

  • The air battle over the Ore MountainsOn 11 September 1944 JG 4 fighters mauled B-17s bound for the Ruhland fuel plant over the Ore Mountains. Mustangs arrived later and shot down 37 Germans.
• 12

  • The Second Quebec ConferenceOn 12 September 1944 Roosevelt and Churchill met in Quebec to discuss Japan and Germany's fate. They agreed occupation zones and initialled the Morgenthau Plan.
• 13

  • The Allies at the Siegfried LineOn 11 September 1944 the first American patrol crossed the German border; on 12–13 September VII Corps attacked the Siegfried Line near Aachen.
• 14

  • The Baltic offensive beginsOn 14 September 1944 three Baltic Fronts struck towards Riga to destroy Army Group North. Two days later Hitler conditionally agreed to a retreat from Estonia.
• 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.
  • The Dutch railway strikeIn September 1944, at the call of the government in London, some 30,000 Dutch railwaymen walked out. A German food blockade paved the way for the Hunger Winter.
• 18

  • The capture of BrestOn 18 September 1944, after a month-long siege, the Americans took ruined Brest. General Ramcke surrendered the next day; the Germans had wrecked the port.
  • The Otto Tief governmentOn 18 September 1944 Jüri Uluots appointed Otto Tief's government. It proclaimed Estonia's continuity and neutrality, but within days the Red Army crushed it.
• 19

  • The Moscow ArmisticeOn 19 September 1944 Finland signed an armistice with the USSR and Britain in Moscow. It returned to the 1940 border, ceded Petsamo and accepted reparations.
• 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.
  • Prince Charles becomes Regent of BelgiumOn 21 September 1944 Prince Charles, brother of Leopold III, deported by the Germans, was sworn in as Regent of Belgium. The royal dispute had only begun.
• 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.
• 23

  • The occupation of UlithiOn 23 September 1944 a US 81st Infantry Division regiment took Ulithi atoll in the Carolines unopposed. Its lagoon became a vast forward base for the US fleet.
• 24

  • The Red Army and Berling on the VistulaIn late September 1944 the front in Poland stood on the Vistula and Narew. The Polish 1st Army's Warsaw landing failed; the last men withdrew on 23 September.
• 25

  • The end of the Battle of ArnhemOn the night of 25/26 September 1944 the remnants of the British 1st Airborne Division withdrew across the Rhine. Operation Market Garden had failed.
• 26

  • The Caserta AgreementOn 26 September 1944 at Caserta the Papandreou government, ELAS and EDES put the partisans under the government and British General Scobie before liberation.
• 28

  • The Medal of Honor for Theodore Roosevelt Jr.In September 1944 Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., who died in Normandy in July, got a posthumous Medal of Honor for leading on Utah Beach on 6 June.