The Second World War.

[Ennath]

September 14, 1930
Germany, Politics In the German elections, the Nazis become the second largest party, taking 20 percent of the vote and going from 12 seats to 107. The Communists also do well, gaining 77 seats. The Nazis are still a long way from being in a dominant position, but they have surpassed Hugenberg’s National Party as the leading party of the right. Brüning is now in the position of being unable to put together an effective coalition.

September 14, 1937
Diplomatic Relations A Chinese delegation to Moscow request Soviet volunteer pilots. These pilots arrive by the end of the year.
China The Japanese begin an advance along the Peking-Wuhan Railroad.

September 14, 1939
Poland German troops enter Gdynia. Guderian’s XIX Panzer Corps reaches Brest-Litovsk. Przemysl falls. In the Hel Peninsula, Luftwaffe attacks sink several Polish light minelayers; the remaining ships are docked and stripped of their weapons for the land fight. The Peninsula is cut off from the mainland. New Polish attacks on the Bzura fail. The overall situation is now threatening the Polish forces in this sector with encirclement. Ethnic Ukrainians in Lvov and Stanislawow rise against the Poles.
Russia, Politics Pravda launches an anti-Polish propaganda campaign alleging mistreatment of minorities in Poland.

September 14, 1940
Battle of Britain Hitler decides that the Luftwaffe needs four or five consecutive days of fine weather to hammer home their advantage. Accordingly he defers his decision on the invasion once more, until September 17, meaning that the invasion cannot take place until the 27th. This is a final date, because October 8 might be the only subsequent day when conditions will be suitable for landings; this is dangerously near winter for the exploitation stage of the invasion. There can almost certainly be no further postponement.
The daytime attacks on London are repeated after two quieter days. The night attacks have been continuing without respite. The fighting goes well for the Luftwaffe, with 14 planes lost on either side. It appears to the German leaders that the RAF is almost beaten.
North Atlantic Inhabitants of St. Pierre and Miquelon attempt to rally their small islands to the Free French but Canadian support is not forthcoming and Vichy authorities restore their control.

September 14, 1941
Finland, Resistance Three German minesweepers are sabotaged and damaged in a Helsinki dockyard.
Eastern Front German troops establish a bridgehead over the Dneipr at Kremenchug. The Germans attack Muhu Island off Estonia. Most of the island is overrun in hard fighting and the Germans cross the causeway to Saaremaa Island. Fighting on the Litsa continues.

September 14-16, 1941
North Africa Rommel launches a poorly-executed raid by 21st Panzer Division, which retires due to lack of fuel. Rommel consistently underestimates supply needs in the desert. He pulls his German units out of the line of fire and orders the Italians to guard the flanks.
Eastern Front The Soviets at Odessa retire to their second defense line.

September 14, 1942
Guadalcanal The Japanese attacks on Bloody Ridge peter out with a loss of 1200 casualties. The Americans have lost 150 killed.
Solomons Just east of the islands, the submarine I-19 sinks the carrier Wasp with three torpedoes. A destroyer is also sunk and the battleship North Carolina is damaged.
New Guinea The Japanese achieve their final success on the Kokoda Trail, moving the Australians back to Imita Ridge, only 32 miles from Port Moresby. They are halted there by counterattacks.
Aleutians American bombers attack Japanese-held Kiska. The attacks are repeated during the next few days. Operations are becoming more difficult in this area as the Arctic winter closes in.
Eastern Front German troops reach the Volga in the center of Stalingrad, cutting the Soviet position on the west bank in two.
Mediterranean The old cruiser Coventry is sunk by Axis aircraft off Tobruk.

September 14, 1943
Italy The Germans maintain their pressure on the Salerno beachhead but Allied air support and naval gunfire prevent any significant success. 8th Army is still moving forward in the south, having reached Belvedere, while the paratroops in the east take Bari.
Corsica Small French contingents land on the island to harass the retreating Germans, linking up with local Corsican partisans.
Sardinia US paratroops land without opposition.
Eastern Front The Smolensk offensive is resumed. The Germans announce the evacuation of Bryansk but fighting there continues. In the south, fighting continues in Novorossisk.
Bulgaria, Politics Dobri Bozhilov becomes premier. He begins tentative secret negotiations with the western Allies, but the example of Italy and, later, Hungary, leaves him cautious about German reaction.
Solomons On Vella Lavella, the New Zealand troops, make good progress but it is necessary to reinforce the US battalion on Sagekarasa because of Japanese counterattacks.

September 14, 1944
Italy With the capture of Zollara the Gemmano Ridge is finally cleared of Germans and the 8th Army is able to push forward to the Marano River. US forces are skirmishing with the Gothic Line defenses.
Eastern Front The Warsaw suburb of Praga is taken by the Soviets. The Narva position is abandoned as a new Soviet attack opens toward Tallinn. A German-Hungarian counterattack at Cluj slows the Soviet advance, but cannot stop it.
China On the Salween front, the Chinese complete the capture of Tengchung. The Japanese break off their counterattack in the region.

[Ennath]

September 15-16, 1931
British Forces The Invergordon Mutiny hits the Atlantic Fleet over threatened pay cuts. It is settled without violence.

September 15, 1932
China The Japanese formally establish a protectorate over Manchukuo.

September 15, 1935
Germany, Home Front Promulgation of the Nuremberg Laws. Jews are stripped of their German citizenship and most civil rights. Marriage and non-marital intercourse between Jews and "Aryans” is criminalized. Jews may not employ Germans. Most importantly, Jewish identity is not determined by religious belief. The laws declare anyone with three or four Jewish grandparents to be a Jew, regardless of that person’s own views. Even people whose grandparents had converted to Christianity could be identified as a Jew. In November the laws are extended to include Roma (Gypsies).
The Swastika is officially adopted as part of the German national flag.

September 15, 1938
Diplomatic Relations Chamberlain flies to Germany, despite Hitler’s hand in the trouble, in an attempt to find a solution. He has a plan which he has only discussed with a few advisers and not with the French for ceding to Germany areas where more than half the population supports this. This is acceptable to Hitler.

September 15, 1939
United States, Home Front Aviation hero Charles Lindbergh makes his first radio address supporting isolationism. He has been questioning the motives of the Roosevelt administration before this and has also visited Germany and been deeply impressed by German air power. He urges his listeners to look beyond the speeches and propaganda they are being fed and instead to look at who is writing the speeches and reports, and who owns the papers and influences the readers. This is an oblique reference to the Jews, who, along with the British, will become an increasing obsession with him.
Diplomatic Relations The Soviets and Japanese sign a formal agreement ending the Khalkin Gol campaign. Prisoners are returned and a commission set up to resolve the border disputes. The campaign has provided valuable experience for the Soviets, especially in the use of large tank forces and ground-air cooperation. The Japanese do not learn these lessons and continue to rely on infantry, poor tanks, and “bushido spirit”.
Poland The pocket at Kutno is being gradually reduced.
Rumania The government decides to allow Polish officials asylum.

September 15, 1940
Battle of Britain Kesselring makes another great effort against London. He plans two main raids but they cannot be timed to catch the RAF fighters refueling because his own strength is sufficiently reduced that he must send the same fighters on both occasions. He can muster about 400 fighters but less than 200 bombers in the morning attack. The fighting is very heavy with the Germans being harried all the way to London, then being heavily engaged over the city and all the way back to the coast. The bombers are not able to drop their loads with any accuracy at all. The afternoon shows a similar story, but the fighter battles are even more intense and the bombers hit nearer to their targets as a consequence. Although fighter losses have been about equal, the German bombers lose severely, bringing German losses for the day to 60 aircraft for a British loss of 26. Many more German bombers have been damaged or have crewmen dead or wounded. Their morale suffers as they meet up to 300 RAF fighters in one raid after their leaders have told them that the RAF as a whole has less than this number. Although it is not apparent at the time or for several weeks afterward, this is the last real attempt by the Luftwaffe to destroy Fighter Command.
Russia, Home Front The USSR modifies its conscription laws. From now on 19-20 year olds will be conscripted.
Canada, Home Front Following legislation passed in August, single men between 21 and 24 are called up.
Palestine An Italian air raid on Tel Aviv kills 100 people.

September 15, 1941
Eastern Front The Germans capture Schusselburg on the south shore of Lake Ladoga, east of Leningrad, completely isolating the city from overland contact with the rest of the Soviet Union. Some supplies can still be carried in by boat across the lake. There are sufficient stores for only about one month in the city even with poor ration allowances. The siege will not be fully raised until early 1944 and hundreds of thousands will die of starvation in the meantime.
German artillery is within range of Kronstadt and begins shelling the naval base; the battleship Petropavlovsk suffers heavy damage.
German Technology Rocket development at Peenemunde, on the Baltic coast, previously suspended, is restarted by Hitler’s order. Work on the A-4 is given priority over naval and aviation requirements.
British Forces The Parachute Regiment is established.
United States, Politics The Attorney General rules that the Neutrality Act does not prevent US ships from carrying war material to British possessions in the Middle or Far East or in the Western Hemisphere.

September 15-19, 1941
Atomic Research Heisenberg meets with his old mentor Bohr in Copenhagen. The two have fallen out over Heisenberg’s work for the Nazis. The contents of the discussion are still unknown and the subject of much speculation. The pro-Heisenberg group claims that he was attempting to provide information on the state of the German program for Bohr to pass to the Allies. Others claim that he was trying to recruit Bohr.

September 15, 1943
Italy There is something of a lull at Salerno as the Germans regroup. They now have available the equivalent of about four divisions, including perhaps 100 tanks. The Allies have seven divisions and twice as much armor and can now make practical plans to expand the beachhead. Alexander visits the Allied positions in the morning and firmly squashes any remaining ideas about withdrawal.
8th Army’s advance continues, gradually quickening its pace. A group of war correspondents actually drives on ahead by minor roads and tracks and makes contact with 5th Army.
The island of Procida in the Bay of Naples is taken by the Allies.
Italy, Politics Mussolini issues an edict resuming his authority. He is in fact now just another German puppet ruler.
Aegean Kos in the Dodecanese is occupied by British paratroopers and a squadron of Spitfires is flown in.
Eastern Front Rokossovsky’s forces take Nezhin on the rail line from Konotop to Kiev. In the Bryansk sector the Germans are pushed out of Dyatkovo.
New Guinea The Australians have now crossed the Busu in force and built bridges. The front is now within two miles of Lae.

September 15, 1944
Arctic A force of 28 British bombers is sent from a Russian base to attack the Tirpitz at Altafjord. Special 12,000-pound bombs are used but only one hits due to effective smoke screens.
Western Front British 2nd Army takes a second crossing over the Meuse-Escaut Canal. Maastricht and Eisden are taken by US 1st Army and Nancy and Epinal by 3rd Army. Apart from a strip of land on the German border, Belgium and Luxembourg are completely cleared. Attacks near Aachen are broken off. The forces moving up from the south, Patch’s US 7th Army and deLattre’s French 1st Army come under Eisenhower’s command and are organized as 6th Army Group, under General Devers. The Allies have landed more than 2 million men in France since D-Day.
France, Politics The government orders the arrest of Petain and all the other members of the Vichy cabinet because of their alleged collaboration.
Italy 8th Army establishes a bridgehead over the Marano. The first elements of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force enter the line under the command of US IV Corps.
Eastern Front Army Group South Ukraine has managed to concentrate 27 divisions and brigades near Cluj in Transylvania to block the Soviet advance.
The Germans attempt to land a force on Suusaari (Gogland) Island. The attack is repulsed by the Finnish defenders, with Soviet air support, with heavy loss.
In Warsaw, the Germans take Zoliborz.
Moluccas US forces land in the southwest of Morotai at the Gila Peninsula. There is no Japanese opposition. The landing force is from 31st Division. Airfields are quickly built.
Palau Islands US landings begin on the southwest coast of Peleliu. The Japanese garrison consists of a regiment from 14th Division, commanded by Colonel Nakagawa. The landing force is 1st Marine Division. The landings meet fairly moderate resistance on the beaches but as soon as they move inland the fighting becomes very fierce. The Japanese have constructed a formidable defense system based largely on the complex of caves with which the island is riddled. At the end of the day the beachhead is only a few hundred yards wide at the most.
Burma Chiang threatens to withdraw his troops from the Salween front if the forces around Myitkyina do not begin an offensive.
Further south, 5th Indian Division continues its advance on Tiddim, establishing a bridgehead across the Manipur River near Tuitum.

September 15, 1947
War Crimes 21 former SS Einsatzgruppe leaders go on trial in Nuremberg. 14 are sentenced to death, but only four are actually hanged.

September 15, 1948
India After the Nizam of Hyderabad has continued to refuse to accede to India, Indian troops invade his state. In three days the campaign is over and the Nizam surrenders.

September 15-24, 1948
China The Nationalist armies are defeated at Tsinan. 80,000 troops are captured or defect.

September 15, 1950
Korea UN forces land well behind North Korean lines at Inchon and push inland to retake Seoul. UN forces counterattack from the south and the North Koreans are routed and driven north.

[Ennath]

September 16, 1934
Germany, Home Front Lutherans in Munich protest Nazi restrictions on the churches.

September 16, 1939
Poland Warsaw is now surrounded but a surrender demand is refused. An attempt to capture Praga from the march is repulsed. The Germans mark the evening of Rosh Hashanah by bombing Warsaw’s Jewish quarter. Part of List’s army is still fighting west of Lvov while other units are advancing north to link with Guderian’s forces who are maintaining their attack along the Bug. Polish air force bombers make their final sortie.
Britain, Home Front The Duke of Windsor is appointed a liaison officer with the French Army.

September 16, 1940
North Africa The Italians take Sidi Barrani as their cautious advance into Egypt begins to grind to a halt. They begin building a supply pipeline to their forward forces.
United States, Home Front The Selective Service Bill becomes law. It permits compulsory induction into the armed forces for all males between the ages of 21 and 35.

September 16-17, 1940
Mediterranean Aircraft from the carrier Illustrious attack Benghazi during the night. Four Italian ships are sunk in the harbor, including two destroyers. The cruiser Kent is detached from the British force while returning to Alexandria in order to shell Bardia and is badly damaged by torpedo bombers.

September 16, 1941
Iran The Allies have decided to occupy Teheran because the Shah has not done enough, in their view, to expel Axis nationals from the country. Shah Reza Pahlavi abdicates in favor of the Crown Prince, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. British and Soviet forces arrive in the capital next day. (The new Shah will remain on his throne until the Islamist Revolution of 1979.)
Eastern Front Rumanian troops capture important heights overlooking Odessa. The Germans have cleared the mines around Saaremaa as the battle for the island continues.
In an effort to quell partisan activity, Marshal Keitel orders the random execution of 50-100 Russians every time a civilian kills a German soldier.
France Ten hostages, mostly Jewish, are executed in reprisal for anti-German attacks.

September 16, 1942
New Guinea Japanese attacks on the Kokoda Trail are brought to a halt at Ioribaiwa and with local air superiority and with American troops arriving at Port Moresby, the Allies can plan an offensive.
China Chennault suggests that the primary task of his aircraft should be the protection of the airlift from India.
Eastern Front There is heavy fighting in Stalingrad around the Mamayev Kurgan Hill. It is taken and retaken several times by each side during the next few days and throughout the battle will be the scene of many extremely fierce confrontations.
Albania A partisan United Front is formed under Communist domination.
Diplomatic Relations The US government protests to Vichy on its deportation of Jews.

September 16, 1943
Italy The Germans, under General Vietinghoff and organized as 10th Army, make another attack on the British between Salerno and Battipaglia but are driven off. By midday Kesselring has authorized a withdrawal to the Volturno line. In the afternoon, the battleship Warspite is hit by two glider bombs and seriously damaged. Forward units of 5th and 8th Armies join up but the bulk of 8th Army is well behind and busy transferring to the east side of the peninsula. The battle for Salerno is over but it has been a very close thing.
Salerno Mutiny: 600 British soldiers refuse assignment as replacements in Italy. 192 are convicted, but receive suspended sentences.
Aegean British forces occupy Leros and Samos.
Eastern Front The Soviets take Novgorod Seversky and Romny, near Konotop, on the flanks of their advance toward Kiev. Lozovaya, a rail junction northeast of Pavlograd, is taken and, in the Kuban, Novorossisk falls after a bitter fight.
New Guinea Lae is taken by the converging attacks of Australian 7th and 9th Divisions. Many of the Japanese are able to slip away into the jungle and head for the north coast of the Huon Peninsula. In a major air attack on Wewak, the Japanese lose many planes.

September 16, 1944
Eastern Front There is a new Soviet offensive in the Baltic States involving attacks toward Riga and Tallinn. In the south, Soviet troops occupy Sofia and turn west to threaten the retreat of the German forces in Greece. Malinovsky in Transylvania attacks north but the Germans have been massing for an offensive of their own, so the Soviets run into strong opposition and a week of fruitless attacks ensues before the operation is called off.
Greece British commandos land on Kithira Island south of the Peloponnese. There is no opposition.
Palau Islands The marines consolidate and extend their beachhead on Peleliu. The island’s airfield is partly captured and the beachhead is now about 1½ miles deep.
Moluccas The Americans expand their beachhead an average of 4 miles; the Japanese begin a series of not very successful attacks.
The Pacific The submarine Barb sinks the escort carrier Unyo.

September 16-20, 1944
Indian Ocean The British Eastern Fleet sends raids against Sigli, in northern Sumatra.

September 16-21, 1944
Denmark There is a general strike in protest against recent deportations by the Germans.

September 16, 1947
Italy Yugoslav military movements around Trieste are deterred by deployment of an American battalion. Tension remains high in the disputed area. Incidents, including occasional exchanges of small-arms fire, are frequent. Not until late 1953 is the situation settled.

[hound dog]

MacArthur has always fascinated me, he's considered such a great general of the 20th century, and I never understood why. Learned a few things that I hadn't considered or didn't know that are worth mentioning, considering all the bashing I've given the man over the years.

I still think he was derelict in his duty regarding the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, he had hours to make preperations after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and if any were made, they were ineffectual. His aircraft were vertually destroyed on the ground, and much of his food, medical supplies,and equipment had to be abandoned on the retreat to Bataan. However, after getting to Bataan, he was able to hold it for 5 months before it was surrendered. 5 months isn't a real long time, but at the start of the war, tying up the Japanese southern Pacific force bought some very precious time indeed. I still don't think he deserved the Congressional Medal of Honor for the "defense of the Phillipines".

In the past I undervalued his campaigns in New Guinea and the Phillipines. Actually, these were pretty important to ultimate victory in the Pacific. First, it kept the Japanese from invading Ausralia, when most of her armed forces were in the middle east, Australia was vital as a staging area and supply base. Second, by tying up so much of the Japanese army, it very much contributed to the success of the Naval/Marine island hopping invasions. Also worth mentioning here, MacArthur was the first army general to embrace amphibious as well as air operations, he looked at water as a highway, and he was the first general to supply troops in the field with air drops, he also came up with the plan of hopping around Japanese strong points and isolating them, Rabaul comes instantly to mind here, saving countless soldiers lives.

His overseeing the occupation of Japan is considered exemplary, It was one of rebuilding, not retribution.

But the man was as arrogant as they come, he out prima donna'd both Patton and Montgomery. And his insubordination to Truman I find inexcusable, with one very small mitigating fact, in his retitrement, at some point he was asked about Truman, his reply..."The little bastard had the guts to fire me, I like him."

[palo5]

Originally Posted by hound dog

MacArthur...
In the past I undervalued his campaigns in New Guinea and the Phillipines. Actually, these were pretty important to ultimate victory in the Pacific. First, it kept the Japanese from invading Ausralia...

I don't think the Japanese wanted Australia, and don't think they would have known what to do with it. At the most, they could only have taken little bits of it, and for what purpose? A lot of Australia's raw materials were either undiscovered or undeveloped at that time, and it didn't have what they needed most of all - oil

Above all, it would be difficult to supply, and therefore difficult to defend. The Japanese must have known that, so I think Australia was safe

(Never mind the couple of air attacks on Darwin. Not to downplay them, but they were nothing Australia couldn't handle)

[Ennath]

The destruction of the US aircraft in the Philippines was sheer bad luck. MacArthur ordered an attack on Japanese air bases on Formosa (Taiwan) and the planes were preparing of the raid, many neatly lined up, when the Japanese struck first. The adandonment of supplies on the retreat to Bataan was a bureaucratic cockup that might be expected of a peacetime army.
On the other hand, he was convinced that the Japanese would not go to war in the first place, claiming a superior knowledge of the Asian mind. Curiously, he made exactly the same mistake nine years later in Korea.

[KissArmy]

I still recall the article about how MacArthur arrogantly ignored growing reports that the Chinese were massing on the Yalu River in 1950. MacArthur apparently believed Asian armies were too inferior to accomplish such a thing, and too incompetent to successfully attack. He passed this philosophy down to his staff, who also refused to pass the reports up to him. History showed the results were disastrous to U.S. Forces; tens of thousands of casualties, some of which still aren't recovered. There's a reason why Niedermeyer, of "Animal House" infamy, arrogantly stated his name was "Douglas C. Niedermeyer" in that one scene.

[Ennath]

MacArthur was also a man who wanted only "yes men" around him. Charles Willoughby, his chief of intelligence was one. He knew what Mac wanted to hear and gave it to him. So the UN command somehow (and with complete air superiority) missed the movement of hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops across the Yalu.

[Ennath]

September 17, 1939
Poland Soviet troops invade Poland. Because of the German attack, there is almost no defense left in the east. The Soviets employ two army groups, or Fronts. The Poles have only 18 battalions to oppose them. Molotov announces the Polish government has ceased to exist. Farther west, the Germans bring the Krakow and Lublin Armies to battle near Tomasow Lubelski. The Poles along the Bzura begin attacking to break out of the German encirclement. Only a few will get away in the next few days. Meanwhile Kobryn falls after a three day battle. Warsaw is now completely surrounded as German pincers meet at Siedlce. Resistance in the Kutno pocket ends, with 40,000 prisoners.
Battle of the Atlantic The British aircraft carrier Courageous is sunk by U-29 while on anti-submarine patrol off the southwest coast of Ireland. The carrier Ark Royal has had a lucky escape on the 14th from a submarine attack while similarly employed. After these incidents, the carriers are withdrawn from such work. Courageous has been one of the most effective British carriers.
September 17, 1940
Battle of Britain Hitler postpones Operation Sealion until further notice. The German invasion barge flotillas are attacked during the night and a fair amount of damage is done. The German night attacks include a raid on Clydeside in which the cruiser Sussex is damaged.
Germany, Planning General Paulus, Deputy Chief of the Army General Staff, presents a further plan for the attack on Russia. This version envisages three thrusts for Leningrad, Moscow, and Kiev, but the emphasis is still on the central advance to the Soviet capital. Further consideration over the coming weeks confirms the General Staff in the belief that this priority is correct.
Diplomatic Relations French-Japanese talks resume. Japan increases its demands and openly threatens military action.

September 17, 1941
Battle of the Atlantic The US Navy increases its commitment to escort Atlantic convoys. It takes over responsibility for some of the Halifax-UK convoys and for most of the Iceland traffic. Canadian forces are escorting the others as far as 22 degrees West where the British take over on all routes.
Eastern Front There is heavy fighting in the outskirts of Kiev. The Soviet Command belatedly authorizes a withdrawal. A new Rumanian offensive against Odessa gains little; attacks continue through the 21st.
War Crimes The general deportation of German Jews begins.
China The Japanese begin a second attempt to capture Changsha. Japanese forces, eventually totaling 120,000, cross the Sinchiang River at four points and make rapid advances, crossing the Milo River on the 19th. The main Chinese force, 9th Army Group, avoids a direct confrontation, moving parallel to the Japanese advance. In the following days, the Japanese attempt to flank the Chinese force and encircle it. This causes both armies to head for the Laotao River and an inevitable confrontation. By the 27th, the Japanese are approaching the city.

September 17, 1942
Madagascar The terms offered by the British for an armistice are rejected by the Vichy authorities.
Japan, Politics Masayuka Tani is appointed Foreign Minister.
Atomic Research All atomic research in the United States is placed under military control and General 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. On the 19th, the nuclear program, the Manhattan Project, receives the highest supply priority from the government.
German Manpower The Luftwaffe begins to organize field divisions. There will eventually be 22 of them; they will have a dubious combat record.

September 17, 1943
Eastern Front The Soviets complete the capture of Bryansk. They also take Bezhitsa, a little to the north, and Trubchevsk to the south, as the advance crosses the Desna River on a wide front. In the south, on the Sea of Azov, Berdyansk is taken.
Italy 5th Army is beginning to extend the boundaries of its beachhead once more. Altavilla and Battipaglia are attacked again by the Germans to cover their withdrawal which is now beginning. German paratroops seize Elba from its Italian garrison with little resistance.
Yugoslavia A senior British liaison mission arrives to serve with Tito’s forces. It is to follow up reports that Tito is doing more to oppose the Axis than Mihailovic.

September 17-19, 1943
Gilbert Islands Tarawa is attacked on all three days by US aircraft.

September 17, 1944
Western Front Operation Market Garden begins. The plan is for airborne troops to seize a series of bridges in Holland allowing the main forces, or part of them, to continue their advance into Germany unimpeded by such natural barriers. The belief is that the German armies in the west have been so weakened since D-Day that they will collapse if momentum can be sustained. In fact the German forces in Holland generally and around Arnhem in particular are not as weak as has been believed. It is arguable that the effort put into Market Garden would have been better employed clearing the Scheldt estuary and getting Antwerp working to create a solid basis for the further Allied campaigns.
The plan provides for three airborne divisions to be dropped and five main bridges to be captured while British XXX Corps attacks northeast to link up with each division in turn. The nearest bridges, over canals north of Eindhoven at Veghel and Zon, are the objectives of US 101st Airborne Division. These objectives are taken on the first day. The US 82nd Airborne Division is dropped around Grave south of Nijmegen with the task of taking the bridges over the Maas at Grave and over the Waal at Nijmegen. The first of these is taken on the first day. The farthest bridge is at Arnhem over the lower Rhine. This is the objective of British 1st Airborne Division. They are dropped deliberately a little distance away from the town to allow some organization before going into battle and on balance this proves to have been a mistake because of the time it gives the Germans to react. It is unfortunate than an SS Panzer Division, recovering from the fighting on the Eastern Front, is close by and still a very formidable opponent. The airborne troops, of course, have only weapons light enough to be carried in gliders. One battalion manages to reach the bridge but is cut off there from the remainder of the division which is itself fighting for its life. XXX Corps begins an advance along the main road to the bridges but the terrain on either side of the road leaves little room for armored forces to maneuver. Overall the first day of the operation has been fairly successful. All the bridges are still intact but the deciding factor will be whether XXX Corps can advance fast enough to aid the paratroops.
As well as support for Market Garden, the RAF attacks Boulogne before a Canadian assault begins.
Britain, Home Front The Blackout is replaced by a partial “dim-out”.
Italy US troops begin a general attack.
Palau Islands 8th Infantry Division lands on Angaur. The Japanese garrison is about 1600 strong. The resistance to the landing is energetic but neither very powerful nor effective.
On Peleliu, there are Japanese attacks by night but by day the Americans still hold most of the south side comfortably enough. They begin attacks on the main Japanese positions on Mount Umurbrogol. Only a little progress is made here, despite the support of heavy naval guns, due to the strength and elaboration of the Japanese defenses. 5th Marine Division joins the American force.
Moluccas US forces on Morotai begin mopping up and occupying the islets off the coast.
Burma 5th Indian Division takes Tuitum.

September 17, 1945
China Nationalist troops occupy Peking.

[Ennath]

September 18, 1927
Germany, Politics Hindenburg repudiates German responsibility for the World War.

September 18, 1931
Germany, Home Front Smothered by Hitler’s possessiveness, his favorite niece, Geli Raubal, commits suicide. This is a major blow to Hitler and for a few days he contemplates suicide.

September 18, 1938
Diplomatic Relations Premier Daladier goes to London. The French have up to this stage been resigned to fighting for Czechoslovakia but under British urging they join in pressuring President Benes to agree to the British plan. They agree with Chamberlain that Czech concessions will have to be made. An Anglo-French note containing the cession proposals is sent to Prague the next day but is rejected by the Czech government. However, after threats of no assistance in the event of a German invasion, President Benes accepts on the 21st.

September 18, 1939
Poland Polish President Moscicki and the army commander Rydz-Smigly enter Rumania. They leave behind messages telling their troops to fight on. Under German pressure, the Rumanian government interns them. The largest tank battles of the campaign are occurring around Tomasow Lubelski, but the Poles cannot stop the German advance. Key personnel of the Polish Cipher Bureau, with important knowledge of the German Enigma machines, leave for Paris.
Estonia The Polish submarine Orzel has been interned in Tallinn under pressure from the Germans and Soviets. On this day the ship escapes, eventually making its way to England. The incident leads Moscow to question Estonian neutrality.
German Propaganda Former British Fascist William Joyce is given a contract by German radio for propaganda broadcasts. He will become better known to the British as “Lord Haw-Haw”.

September 18, 1940
North Africa The advance of Italian 10th Army comes to a halt, officially because of supply difficulties. They begin building various fortified camps and make little effort to keep in contact with the British forces which have pulled back in the face of superior numbers.
Battle of Britain During the day, there is an attack by 50 German bombers on targets in London. There is heavy fighting in which the RAF loses 12 planes and the Luftwaffe 19
United States and Canada The two nations establish a coordinated military plan for the defense of the northern Western Hemisphere.

September 18, 1941
Eastern Front The Red Army introduces the title of Soviet Guards to be awarded to units which distinguish themselves.
Mediterranean The submarine Upholder sinks two 19,000-ton transports bound for Tripoli.

September 18, 1942
Guadalcanal Six transports bring supplies and the 7th Marine Regiment to reinforce the American positions. The US strength is now about 23,000 men and they have adequate supplies. Skirmishes and patrolling continue.
New Guinea In response to orders and due to the difficulty of supplying the forward troops, General Horii begins to pull back some of his troops to the area of Buna and Gona.
Madagascar There are British landings on the east coast at Tamatave.
War Crimes So called “anti-socials” are to handed over to the SS for extermination.

September 18, 1943
Aegean British forces occupy Simi, Stampalia, and Icaria. The Germans bomb Antimachia airfield on Kos.
Eastern Front In the drive toward Kiev, Priluky, Lubny, and Romodan are taken. Farther south there are gains all along the front, including Pavlograd, Krasnograd, Pologi, and Nogaysk.
Solomons The fighting continues on Arundel and Vella Lavella. New Zealand General Barrowclough takes command on the latter island, where his forces now predominate.

September 18 – October 6, 1943
Ethiopia Rebels in Enderta province hold Amba Alagi, but are suppressed by government troops with British air support.

September 18, 1944
Western Front British XXX Corps links up with the 101st Airborne Division at Eindhoven and Veghel. They continue pushing forward, meeting gradually stiffening resistance. The other airborne divisions are fighting fiercely to maintain their positions. The Germans are committing all available troops, even including a battalion of wounded. In Lorraine, a force of two German divisions attacks US 4th Armored Division at Arracourt, intending to eliminate its bridgehead over the Moselle, leading to one of the largest tank battles of the war. The German attack is hampered by poor tactics.
English Channel A German MTB flotilla carrying supplies to Dunkirk is engaged by a frigate and 2 MTB’s. Three German boats are sunk.
Eastern Front In the only major attempt to drop supplies to Warsaw allowed by the Soviets, 1284 containers are dropped to the AK by B-17’s but only 22% fall in Polish-held territory.
Palau Islands On Peleliu the marines try to extend their attacks on Mount Umurbrogol but are thrown back by the Japanese with heavy losses.
On Angaur, the American force makes a confident advance inland toward the center of the island. Although Japanese infiltrations cause some problems they are too heavily outnumbered to do much more.
East Indies The British submarine Tradewind sinks the freighter Junyo Maru. The ship is carrying 2300 Allied POW’s and 4200 Javanese slave laborers. Over 4000 captives perish.

September 18-28, 1944
Yugoslavia The partisans capture Banja Luka.