WE REMEMBER SEPT 4th

September 04

WE REMEMBER

1932   (SUNDAY)

SWITZERLAND: Victor Lytton, chairman of the League of Nations mission to Manchuria, produces the so-called Lytton Report on the conflict between China and Japan and accuses Japan of being the aggressor. Japanese special interests are acknowledged and it proposes to make Manchuko a autonomous part of China under Japanese control. (Jack McKillop)

1935   (WEDNESDAY)

SWITZERLAND: The League of Nations meets to discuss Italian aggression against Abyssinia (Ethiopia). (Jack McKillop)

1939   (MONDAY)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: One hundred twelve passengers and crew of the liner SS Athenia perished last night, the first victims of German submarine warfare. The 13,581-ton liner is sailing from Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She is hit by a torpedo at 1945 hours last night, but thanks to a massive rescue operation during the night most of the 1,418 people on board are saved. The Germans are firing at the radio mast, but they missed. At 2059 hours, the SOS call is heard by Malin Head radio station in Ireland. A Norwegian ship, SS Knut Nelson, is first on the scene, soon joined by a Swedish Yacht, Southern Cross. They picked up about 500 survivors and three destroyers then raced up and rescued the rest. It is unlikely that the German High Command wanted to sink a liner, especially one with 300 Americans aboard. Tonight desperate efforts are being made by the Germans to reduce the propaganda value of an attack on a civilian liner. German Chancellor Adolf Hitler himse
lf has sent out a signal that in future passenger ships are not to be attacked. (Andy Etherington)
     The British light cruiser HMS Ajax (22) intercepts the German freighter SS Carl Fritzen about 235 nautical miles (435 kilometers) south-southeast of Porto Alegre, Brazil The cruiser sinks the merchantman with gunfire. (Jack McKillop)

AUSTRALIA: In Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, the Chiefs of Staff Committee, comprising the chiefs of staff of the three military, is formed to provide advice to the government on operational matters and strategic considerations. A larger body, the Defence Committee, which comprises the chiefs of staff, an officer of the secretariat of the Department of Defence and, on occasions, the Controller-General of Munitions, the Controller of Civil Aviation and the Chairman of the Principal Supply Officer’s Committee, advised the government on overall defence policy.

DENMARK: An unidentified plane drops four bombs on Esbjerg killing two civilians. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: Polish troops cross into Germany north of Breslau. (Jack McKillop)
     Fourteen Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command Wellingtons and 15 Blenheims fly in the first of a series of raids on the German Navy in its bases at Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbüttel. Tonight’s raid is against the Kiel Canal. The RAF crews have been warned that no bombs should fall on shore and no merchant ships should be hit. The only damage to the German Navy is caused by one of the missing Blenheims which crashed onto the forecastle of the heavy cruiser Emden. The four bombs the hit the pocket battleship (or armored ship) Admiral Scheer simply bounced overboard, the bombs has been dropped from too low an altitude for the delayed action fuses to detonate the bombs on the armoured target. Seven of the 29 attacking aircraft did not return. (Andy Etherington)
     Pilot Officer S.R. Henderson, a Canadian serving in No.206 Squadron, RAF, becomes the first Canadian to participate in an operational sortie during the war when he serves as the lead navigator in a bomber force in the above attack.(Canada has not declared war on Germany yet and will not do so until 10 September.) (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: The government abandons an attempt at mediation among the warring countries. (Jack McKillop).

JAPAN: The new Prime Minister, ABE Nobuyuki, promises to keep out of the war in Europe. (Andy Etherington)

NETHERLANDS: Antiaircraft batteries fire on several unidentified planes over Amsterdam. (Jack McKillop)

POLAND: The German 3.Armee (von Kuechler) and 4.Armee (von Kluge) join in the Danzig Corridor at Bydgoszcz and reestablish the land connection between East Prussia and the Reich that was severed in 1919 as a result of the Versailles Treaty. (Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)

UNITED STATES: The Office of the Chief of Naval Operations orders Commander Atlantic Squadron to establish, as soon as possible, a combined air and ship patrol to observe and report, in cipher, the movements of warships of warring nations, east from Boston, Massachusetts, along a line to 42.30N, 65.00W then south to 19.00N then around the seaward outline of the Windward and Leeward Islands, to the British island of Trinidad. (Jack McKillop)
     A thunderstorm deluges Washington D.C. with 4.4 inches (11,2 centimeters) of rain in two hours. September of this year is very dry across much of the nation, and Washington D.C. receives more rain in that two hour period than most other places in the country that entire month. (Jack McKillop)

1940   (WEDNESDAY)

CRETE: The Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney (D 48) and the British destroyers HMS Dainty (H 53) and Ilex (D 61) bombard the Italian airfields at Scarpanto. Three Italian motor torpedo boats attack the ships but two are sunk by HMS Ilex and the third broke off the attack. (Jack McKillop) 

GERMANY: Chancellor Adolf Hitler warns Britain that if the RAF continues to bomb Berlin, he will have no choice but to level their cities. (Jack McKillop)
     RAF Whitleys of 4 Group bomb a power station at Berlin and oil tanks at Magdeburg (Andy Etherington)

UNITED KINGDOM: BATTLE OF BRITAIN: The weather is fine and warm with haze in the Channel and Straits and occasional rain and strong winds in the north. During the day, the German’s main effort consisted of two attacks in East Kent and Thames Estuary areas. There is also a considerable amount of high flying reconnaissances of convoys, especially round the North and East Coasts and Wales. In the North, at 1140 hours one Ju 88 is identified in the Dunbar area although no track is plotted. At 1610 hours and 1809 hours two high altitude reconnaissance flights approached Montrose and Aberdeen. The second of these reported the position of a convoy. Fighters went up but did not intercept. In the East, some high altitude reconnaissances are flown by enemy aircraft off the Coast of Norfolk. In the Southeast, between 0600 and 0700 hours one aircraft at 17,000 feet (5 182 meters)) is over a convoy off North Foreland. It is engaged by fighters but the result is inconclusive. At 0915 hou
rs activity developed into an attack by about 150 aircraft. One group of 80 flew into the Estuary and on towards Eastchurch, Hornchurch, North Weald and Debden, and the other of 70 crossed near Lympne and flew towards Biggin Hill. Most of the aircraft soon turned and by 0945 hours are recrossing the coast. During their withdrawal a force of 30 aircraft patrolled off North Foreland in addition to the usual hostile patrols in the Straits. At 1235 hours five hostile bombers are over Dover and at 1258 hours an attack developed. By 1305 hours some 200 aircraft crossed the coast on a wide front between Dover and Littlehampton at 20,000 feet (6 096 meters). The bulk flew over Kent and Sussex but had commenced to disperse by 1400 hours. Some however flew over the Thames Estuary and near Gravesend but drew off at 1340 hours. A third section of about 50 aircraft flew along the Coast to West of Shoreham as if making for Kenley but quickly turned back. Damage is done at Weybridge. Durin
g the period of these raids about 80 enemy aircraft remained on patrol in the Straits. At 1635 hours one enemy aircraft at 5,000 feet (1 524 meters) flew towards Dover. One section of fighters did not make interception. Between 1730 and 1750 hours small raids and two of six aircraft and one of 12 approached Dungeness but did not cross the coast. In the South between 0700 and 0800 hours, four hostile raids are in the Channel off the Isle of Wight, Portland and Beachy Head. At 1615 hours two-plus aircraft flew over the Isle of Wight. A section sent up did not made interception. In the West at 1132 hours a hostile reconnaissance is made over a convoy at Milford Haven. (Andy Etherington)
     During the night, Luftwaffe activity commenced earlier at 2000 hours and later concentrated on South Wales and the Midlands including Manchester and Liverpool whence some raids crossed to Newcastle. The number of enemy aircraft involved on the route Cherbourg-Poole-Midlands up to 2345 hours is estimated at 100. In addition there are widespread isolated raids involving at least a further 100 aircraft over the Eastern half of the country including the London area, and at various points round the Coast indicating probable mine-laying. These raids continued to come in up to approximately 0300 hours by which time the majority of raids inland has begun to move away in a South Easterly direction. (Andy Etherington)
     Today, the RAF claimed 51-19-22 Luftwaffe aircraft while losing 17 aircraft with six pilots killed or missing. (Andy Etherington)
     A Bristol Beaufighter Mk. IF assigned to the Fighter Interception Unit at Tangmere, Sussex, England, makes its debut in the night fighter role during the night of 4/5 September. (Jack McKillop)

UNITED STATES: Secretary of State Cordell Hull warns the Japanese government that aggressive moves against French Indochina would have an adverse impact on American public opinion. (Jack McKillop)

1941   (THURSDAY)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 1339 hours GMT, the German submarine, U-652, fires torpedoes at the U.S. Navy (USN) destroyer USS Greer (DD-145), which is tracking the submarine about 175 miles (282 km) southwest of Iceland. Greer is not damaged, but drops depth charges. The "Greer Incident" began at 0840 hours local when USS Greer, carrying mail and passengers to Argentia, Newfoundland, from Reykjavik, Iceland, is signaled by an RAF (RAF) aircraft that a German submarine has crash-dived some 10 miles (16 kilometers) ahead. Forty minutes later the destroyers sound man picked up the U-boat, and Greer began to trail the submarine. The RAF aircraft, running low on fuel, dropped four depth charges at 1032 hours and returned to base, while Greer continued to dog the U-boat. Two hours later the German ship began a series of radical maneuvers and Greer's lookouts could see her pass about 100 yards (91 meters) off. An impulse bubble at 1248 hours warned Greer that a torpedo has been fired. Ringin
g up flank speed, hard left rudder, Greer watched the torpedo pass 100 yards (91 meters) astern and then charged in for attack. She laid a pattern of eight depth charges, and less than two minutes later a second torpedo passed 300 yards (274 meters) to port. Greer lost sound contact during the maneuvers, and began to quarter the area in search of the U-boat. After two hours, she reestablished sound contact and laid down a pattern of 11 depth charges before discontinuing the engagement. Greer has held the German raider in sound contact 3 hours and 28 minutes; has evaded two torpedoes fired at her; and with her 19 depth charges has become the first American ship in World War II to attack the Germans. (Jack McKillop)

FINLAND: General der Artillerie (General of Artillery) Alfred Jodl visits Finland. He discusses with the Finnish leadership about the Finnish war effort, particularly the possibility of a Finnish attack towards Leningrad, U.S.S.R. Marshal of Finland Carl Mannerheim, Commander in Chief of the Defence Forces, rejects the idea of a Finnish participation, but agrees to pursue the retreating Soviets as far as the first Red Army fortification-line north of Leningrad. Mannerheim informs Jodl about the situation on the Finnish front: The Karelian Army has just started its attack towards the River Svir. Jodl also hands Mannerheim the Knight's Cross which German Chancellor Adolf Hitler had awarded him a couple of days earlier. (Mikko Härmeinen)

GERMANY: With the immanent loss of their forward airbases in Estonia, the Soviet Air Force launches the fifth, (and last for some time) air raid against Berlin. It causes no significant damage. (Jack McKillop)

UNITED STATES: The government extends Lend-Lease aid to Poland because ". . . the gallant resistance of the forces of the Government of Poland was 'vital to the defense of the United States." (Jack McKillop)
     In baseball, the New York Yankees clinch their third straight American League pennant on the earliest date in baseball history with a 6-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox.  (Jack McKillop)

1942   (FRIDAY)

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Two U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) 11th Air Force B-24 Liberators and a P-38 Lightning bomb and patrol Nazan and Kuluk Bays on Atka Island, but bombing of Japanese-held Kiska Island is cancelled due to weather. (Jack McKillop)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: In the Atlantic, an unidentified German U-boat comes across a lifeboat containing 19 survivors of U.S. freighter SS California, sunk by Italian submarine Reginaldo Giuliani on 13 August and provides rations and navigational assistance before departing. (Jack McKillop)

AUSTRALIA: U.S. General Douglas MacArthur Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area, orders “all available naval forces” to cover convoys in the Coral Sea and prevent Japanese reinforcement of Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. (Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: During the night of 4/5 September, a Japanese evacuation force sets sail from Rabaul, New Britain Island to Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. The force consists of a light cruiser, three destroyers and two patrol boats. (Jack McKillop)

EGYPT: Operation Beresford ends with the New Zealanders withdrawing, being overextended. 132 Brigade has lost 700 men while 6 Brigade, in a diversionary attack, has lost 159 men, including Brigadier George Clifton, who is taken POW. He makes nine escape attempts, succeeding the final time. (Jack McKillop) 
     U.S. Army, Middle East Air Forces B-25 Mitchells and RAF (RAF) Bostons, repelling counterattacks during the Alam-el-Halfa battle, hit troop concentrations and vehicles, while P-40s, operating with the RAF, escort bombers and engage in combat over the battle area, claiming a fighter destroyed. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches six Mosquitos and three bombed the Cologne, Essen and Münster areas through thick cloud without loss. During the night of 4/5 September, 251 aircraft, 98 Wellingtons, 76 Lancasters, 41 Halifaxes and 36 Stirlings, are dispatched to bomb Bremen. The Pathfinders introduced new techniques on this night, splitting their aircraft into three forces: 'illuminators', who lit up the area with white flares; 'visual markers', who dropped coloured flares if they had identified the aiming point; then 'backers-up', who dropped all-incendiary bomb loads on to the coloured flares. This basic pattern - illuminating, marking and backing-up - would form the basis of most future Pathfinder operations with proper target-indicator bombs and various electronic bombing aids being employed as they became available. The weather is clear and the Pathfinder plan worked well; heavy bombing of the target followed by 221 aircraft. Bremen confirms that 
this is a successful raid. Among the industrial buildings seriously hit are the Weser aircraft works and the Atlas shipyard. Four dockside warehouses are destroyed and three oil-storage tanks are burnt out. Various public buildings together with seven schools and three hospitals are hit. One hundred twenty four people are killed and 470 injured. Six aircraft bomb five other targets of opportunity. (Jack McKillop)

HUNGARY: Soviet planes bomb Budapest in the war's first air raid on the Hungarian capital. (Jack McKillop)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: U.S. Army, Middle East Air Forces B-24 Liberators, in conjunction with the RAF and the Royal Navy, attack a convoy at sea; two merchant ships are reported sunk and one left burning. (Jack McKillop) 
     The Italian torpedo boat Polluce is sunk off Tobruk by British bombers. (Jack McKillop)

NETHERLANDS: Three RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines in the Frisian Islands (Jack McKillop) 

NEW GUINEA: On the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, the Australian forces continue to withdraw southward fighting the Japanese as they go. Under cover of darkness, the Australian 2/16 Battalion reaches Myola. (Jack McKillop)
     In the Milne Bay area of Papua New Guinea, Australian troops move forward and come up against Japanese positions at Goroni. Repeated attacks fail to dislodge the Japanese. During the night of 4/5 September, the Japanese destroyer HIJMS Yayoi, covered by two other destroyers, evacuates 224 wounded Japanese troops. 
    RAAF Kittyhawks bomb and strafe Japanese forces in the Milne Bay area at Goroni, Wagga Wagga, Ahioma, and north of Lilihoa.  (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC OCEAN: During the day in the Solomons Sea, two RAAF Hudsons attack two Japanese destroyers northeast of Normanby Island, D'Entrecasteaux Islands. They drop eight 250-pound (113 kilogram) bombs; two just missed the stern of one of the ships. (Jack McKillop) 

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The Marine 1st Raider Battalion lands on Savo Island and finds it free of Japanese troops. (Jack McKillop)
     During the day, USMC and USN F4F Wildcats, SBD Dauntlesses and USAAF P-400 Airacobras bomb and strafe Japanese landing barges attempting to cross open water between Santa Isabel and Guadalcanal Islands. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.S.R.: The Germans attack at Stalingrad, splitting the Soviet 64th Army and driving to the Volga at Krasnoarmeisk. The city has been under continuous bombardment by over 1000 Luftwaffe aircraft for 24 hours. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop) 
     RAF 144 Squadron and Royal Australian Air Force 455 Squadron, equipped with 32 Hampden Mk. Is, flies from Britain to Afrikanda to provide protection for Arctic convoys. Nine of the Hampdens are lost, either running out of fuel and being forced to crash land in Sweden, or, in one case, being accidentally shot down by Soviet aircraft as they approach the Russian coast. Even in the water, the Soviets keep firing on the crew, until their shouts of "Angliski!" over the radio are recognized. One Hampden is forced to land in Norway and the crew is captured before they can burn the plane which contains secret documents about the imminent convoy PQ 18. (Jack McKillop)

1943   (SATURDAY)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb the airfield at Cape Gloucester; A-20 Havocs and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) planes hit the airfield at; and 11 RAAF Catalinas attack Vunakanau and Lakunai Airdromes at Rabaul. (Jack McKillop) 

CHINA: Ten USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and 11 P-40s attack Tien Ho airfield at Canton; three of 15 intercepting "Zeke" fighters (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) are shot down. (Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: The USAAF’s VIII Air Support Command flies Mission 47: 144 B-26B Marauders are dispatched to four marshalling yards in France; 33 hit Courtrai marshalling yard at 1756 hours; 33 hit the Deliverance marshalling yard at Lille at 1756 hours; 34 hit the Hazebrouck marshalling yard at 1831 hours; and 23 hit the St Pol marshalling yard at 1833 hours. (Jack McKillop)
     During the night of 4/5 September, RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in three locations: eight each aircraft lay mines in the River Gironde and off Lorient and St Nazaire. No aircraft are lost. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: During the night of 4/5 September, RAF Bomber Command sends eight Mosquitos to attack two cities; three bomb Duisburg and two bomb Cologne. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Bad weather prevents the USAAF (USAAF) XII Bomber Command B-17 Flying Fortresses from locating their targets (airfields) but 19 visually bomb targets of opportunity with the loss of one aircraft; P-38 Lightnings sent to hit landing grounds at Grazzanise also fail to find targets, but attack targets of opportunity in the general area; USAAF fighter-bombers and RAF light bombers hit motor transport scattered along the Italian toe, and bomb gun positions northeast of Reggio di Calabria and roads and railroad junction in the Cosenza-Catanzaro-Nicastro area and at Colosimi. (Jack McKillop)
     During the night of 4/5 September, RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group visually bomb two airfields: 41 bomb the airfield at Grazzanise and 38 bomb No. 1 airfield at Grazzanise. Nineteen aircraft bomb targets of opportunity at Teracina with the loss of one aircraft. Three aircraft visually drop leaflets over Rome. (Jack McKillop)

NETHERLANDS: During the night of 4/5 September, ten RAF Bomber Command bombers lay mines in the Frisian Islands. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, USN (USN) Task Force 76 (Rear Admiral Daniel E. Barbey) lands the Australian 9th Division, Australian Imperial Force (AIF), on Huon Peninsula at Hopoi and the mouth of the Buso River near Lae, in Operation POSTERN. This landing is the largest in the Pacific to this date. It forms part of the largest triphibious operation ever carried out in the Pacific but has received very little recognition. 9th Australian Division landed at Red Beach east of Lae as part of a I Australian Corps operation to envelop and destroy the Japanese 51st Division. 9 Division is the "right pincer". The holding force is constituted by 3rd Australian Division at Salamaua and the left pincer by 7th Australian Division AIF air landing at Nadzab tomorrow. This plan is conceived by General Sir Thomas Blamey, Commander in Chief Allied Land Forces Southwest Pacific and Commander-in-Chief Australian Military Force. The initial landing is by two brigades, HQ and support elem
ents of 9 Division, carried in vessels of the USN 7th Amphibious Force. 532nd EBSR (US) also took part in the landing. The balance of the division came in the second wave two days later. Blamey had insisted on landing the entire 9th Division instead of the single brigade envisioned by GHQ planners. Events on shore later would vindicate his judgment. Although there is negligible resistance on shore, Japanese aircraft scored hits on Landing Ship Tanks (LSTs) in the initial landing and in the follow-on force. 2/4th Commando Squadron loses about a quarter of its strength to a bomb hit while an infantry battalion lost its commanding officer and other personnel. There is no Allied Combat Air Patrol (CAP). After securing the beachhead, 9 Division began its advance westward along the coast towards Lae. Somewhere ahead is a lot of enemy. (Michael Mitchell)
     At 0705 hours local, six "Zeke" fighters (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) and three "Betty" bombers (Mitsubishi G4M, Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers) attack the Allied naval craft landing troops at Lae and sink the infantry landing craft LCI-339 and damage the USN (USN) destroyer USS Conyngham (DD-371) and tank landing ships USS LST-471 and USS LST-473. At 0800 hours local, nine USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators support the landings by bombing Lae Airfield; at 0900 hours, 24 B-24s attack gun emplacements and other targets at Malahang Airdrome at Lae. At about 1400 hours, 40 P-38 Lightnings and P-47 Thunderbolts intercept about 100 Japanese naval aircraft over the departing invasion force; a "Val" dive bombers (Aichi D3A, Navy Type 99 Carrier Bombers) hits an LST and score near misses on two USN destroyers while a "Betty" bomber scores a torpedo hit on an LST killing 51 and wounding 30.  (Jack McKillop) 

PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarines sink two Japanese vessels: (1) USS Albacore (SS-218) sinks a gunboat about 133 nautical miles (247 kilometers) southwest of Ponape, Caroline Islands in position 05.25N, 156.37E; and (2) USS Tarpon (SS-175) sinks a guardboat about 887 nautical miles (1 642 kilometers) east of Tokyo, Japan, in position 35.56N, 157.59E. (Jack McKillop)
     In the South China Sea, USN submarine USS Sunfish (SS-281) sinks a Japanese army cargo ship about 40 nautical miles (75 kilometers) southwest of Tainan, Formosa in position 22.06N, 119.50E. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Twenty three USAAF (USAAF) Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb the Dulo Cove area on New Georgia Island; nine B-24 Liberators, 15 USAAF fighters, and 20+ USN fighters hit the airfield on Ballale Island. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.S.R.: German Chancellor Adolf Hitler partially corrects one of his stupidities by ordering the German 17th Army to abandon Novorossisk and a tiny corner of the Kuban steppe, north of the Caucasus. For seven months more than 250,000 Germans and Romanians have been uselessly cooped up in the Kuban because Hitler thinks the Army some day will go on the offensive again and capture the Caucasian oilfields. Now there's a good chance the 17th will be trapped and captured by the Soviet Army. (Jack McKillop) 
     In the Ukraine, the Soviets take Merefa, a major rail junction south of Kharkov. (Jack McKillop)

1944   (MONDAY)

BELGIUM: The British 11 Armoured Division drives into Antwerp and clears the city except for the northern suburbs and the dock area. Antwerp's docks are undamaged, but the Germans control part of the 70-mile (113 kilometer) waterway leading to the city.

BULGARIA: Six USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack highways. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: The 11th East African Division captures Sittaung without opposition. (Jack McKillop)
     USAAF Tenth Air Force combat operations are curtailed by heavy rains but nine P-47 Thunderbolts attack Bhamo and Myothit, Burma. (Jack McKillop)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Five USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators, on armed reconnaissance, bomb Yap Island.  (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: Twenty four USAAF Tenth Air Force B-24 Liberators haul 32,000 US gallons (26,646 Imperial gallons or 121 kiloliters) of fuel to Kunming from India. (Jack McKillop)
     Twelve USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells blast sampan, barge, and motor launch concentrations in the Kweiyang area; six B-25s, with P-51 Mustang support, attack the Paishul and Lingling areas, considerably damaging the town of Lingling and killing an estimated 60 Japanese soldiers and ten horses; 100+ P-40s and P-51s on armed reconnaissance kill large numbers of troops and horses, attack river and road traffic, and a variety of other targets of opportunity in the eastern Burma-southwestern China region around Changning and Lungling and throughout areas mainly to the south of the Tungting Lake-Yangtze River section of inland southeastern China, mainly around Hengyang, Lingling, Leiyang, Yangtien, and Kiyang. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: During the night of 4/5 September, 23 USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Kendari Airfield on Celebes Island. (Jack McKillop)

ÉIRE: A British Navy Fairey Swordfish crashes at Carracastle, County Mayo. (Jack McKillop)

FINLAND: The Russian-Finnish cease fire is agreed to and is effective immediately. A delegation leaves Finland for Russia to negotiate the Peace Treaty. The Finnish troops cease hostilities at 0700 hours as ordered, but the Soviet troops keep on fighting until tomorrow morning. The reason is in Prime Minister Hackzell's oversight making the Finnish agreement to Soviet conditions public. As he accidentally forgot to mention that Finland will break the relations with Germany, the Soviet view is that Finland hasn't fulfilled all the conditions. The matter is clarified, but the time this hassle takes delays the sending of Soviet orders to cease hostilities, and most of the Soviet formations receive them late. (Mikko Härmeinen)

FRANCE: General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, states the general objectives of the Allied armies. The Canadian First Army and British Second Army along with the U.S. First Army are given the task of advancing toward the Ruhr. The U.S. Third Army will drive to the Saar. (Jack McKillop) 
     The British liberate Lille in northern France while Lieutenant General George S. Patton's U.S. Third Army refuels, storms across the Moselle River and pushes toward Nancy, capital of the French province of Lorraine. (Jack McKillop) 
     In southern France, the U.S. VI Corps and French II Corps continue their advance on Besancon and Dijon while the U.S. 45th Infantry Division captures Bourg-en-Bresse. (Jack McKillop) 
     In the air, weather prevents bomber activity; fighters fly armed reconnaissance over Belgium, eastern France, Luxembourg, and eastern and central Germany, and defensive night patrols over western and northwestern France. Three USAAF Eighth Air Force bombers hit a supply dump at Bricy Airfield in Orleans.  (Jack McKillop)
     During the night of 4/5 September, 44 USAAF Eighth Air Force aircraft fly CARPETBAGGER missions over France. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: During the night of 4/5 September, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 43 Mosquitos to bomb Karlsruhe; 42 attack the target without loss. (Jack McKillop).

ITALY: The U.S. Fifth Army issues final orders for the attack on the Gothic Line. (Jack McKillop)
     USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and B-26 Marauders hit several road and railroad bridges and tunnel in the Po Valley while fighter-bombers strike pontoon bridges, roads, bridges, and motor transport in preparation for an Allied ground assault on the Gothic Line. (Jack McKillop)
     USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators visually bomb six targets: 165 attack the U-boat base at Genoa; 59 hit the railroad bridge at Latisana; 58 attack the railroad bridge at Casarsa; 56 hit the railroad viaduct at Aviso; 53 bomb the North marshalling yard at Trento; and at Ora, 51 hit the railroad bridge and 48 bomb the marshalling yard. (Jack McKillop)
     During the night of 4/5 September, 65 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the marshalling yard at Ravenna. (Jack McKillop) 

JAPAN: Six USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-25 Mitchells based in the Aleutian Islands fly an anti-shipping sweep close to Paramushiru Island and draw shore-based antiaircraft fire; eight fighters intercept but there are no losses on either side. (Jack McKillop)

MARCUS ISLAND: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Marcus Island in the North Pacific. The island is located in the North Pacific about 768 nautical miles (1 422 kilometers) west-northwest of Wake Island and is used as a refueling point for Japanese aircraft en route to the Central Pacific. (Jack McKillop)

MARIANA ISLANDS: On Pagan Island, USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberator bomb and P-47 Thunderbolts fly rocket and strafing attacks.. (Jack McKillop)

MARSHALL ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators strike Wotje Atoll. (Jack McKillop)
NETHERLANDS: During the night of 4/5 September, nine RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb Steenwijk Airfield without loss. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Following an estimate by Australian Lieutenant General Sir Frank Berryman, Chief of Staff Advanced Headquarter Allied Land Forces South-West Pacific, that the Aparri, Philippine Islands, operation would require three Australian divisions, Australian General Sir Thomas Blamey, Commander in Chief Allied Land Forces Southwest Pacific and Commander-in-Chief Australian Military Force, writes U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander Southwest Pacific Area, requesting the use of the Australian 6th Division, which by then (January 1945) would be at Aitape , Papua New Guinea. (Jack McKillop)
     Bad weather cancels most large-scale operations. In Dutch New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-25 Mitchells hit Utarom (Kaimana) Aerodrome and fighter-bombers attack Moemi Aerodrome and the town of Napido.. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarine USS Bowfin (SS-287) sinks a Japanese guardboat in the North Pacific. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.S.R.: Brasnov and Senaia are taken by the Soviet Army.

VOLCANO ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Iwo Jima. (Jack McKillop)

1945   (TUESDAY)

MARIANA ISLANDS: U.S. Coast Guard Cutter CG 83434 became the first and only USCG vessel to host an official surrender ceremony when Imperial Japanese Army Second Lieutenant YAMADA Kinichi surrenders the garrison on Aguijan Island on board. Rear Admiral Marshall R. Greer, USN, accepted the surrender for the United States. (Jack McKillop)

WAKE ISLAND: The U.S. flag is raised over Wake Island as a U.S. Marine Corps bugler plays "Colors." This is the first time the Stars and Stripes has flown over Wake since its capture by the Japanese on 23 December 1941. (Jack McKillop)