75th anniversary of D-Day...

October 6, 1944: Canadian 3rd Division and Canadian 2nd Corps (part of Canadian 1st Army) assault the German pocket at Breskena, Belgium (south of the Scheldt Estuary, between the Leopold Canal and the southern bank of the river around Breskens). The flooded terrain contributes to a lack of progress.To the north, Allied troops captured Ossendrecht, the Netherlands. US 1st Army continues attacking toward Geilenkirchen, Alsdorf, Baesweiler, and Schmidt and US 3rd Army is engaged at Fort Driant. Further south, US 7th Army attacks Vagney and French 1st Army is withstanding German counterattacks around Le Thillot.

Over northwestern Europe, RAF 2nd Tactical Air Force supports ground operations and flying sweeps and US 9th Air Force conducts operations in support of ground forces and attacks targets in Germany and the Netherlands.

Heavy air raids by the Allied air force are increased over Germany - they are able to send bombers day and night due to near-complete air superiority. The RAF’s primary targets are supply lines - particularly oil refineries. The RAF successfully bombs the synthetic oil plants in Gelsenkirchen and Oberhausen while 121 of 406 of the dispatched B-24s of the USAF’s Eight Air Force bomb the Harburg / Rhenania oil refinery (Harburg’s Phoenix tire plant was also targeted). The US 8th Air Force attacks Stargard airfield with 199 bombers, Stettin with 12 bombers, Neubrandenburg with 73 bombers, Straslund with 100 bombers, Hamburg with 289 bombers, Wenzendorf with 46 bombers, Berlin with 382 bombers, and targets of opportunity with 89 bombers. US 8th Air Force fighters attack five seaplane bases and claim 40 German seaplanes destroyed. During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 320 aircraft to attack Sterkrade and Scholven/Buer the overnight, RAF Bomber Command sends 523 aircraft to attack Dortmund, 253 aircraft to attack Bremen, 22 aircraft to attack Berlin, and 13 aircraft to attack Ludwigshafen and Saarbrucken.

On the eastern front, Hitler refuses to allow German 16th Army and 18th Army to withdraw from positions around Riga. German 3rd Panzer Army is collapsing under assault by Soviet 1st Baltic Front. The Soviets begin the Debrecen offensive: Soviet 4th Ukrainian Front attacks the German 1st Panzer Army and 1st Hungarian Army in eastern Hungary while the Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front attacks the German 6th Army, German 8th Army, and Hungarian 3rd Army in southern Hungary.

In Italy, British 8th Army begins attacking across Fiumicino River and US 5th Army attacks around Monte Vigese, Monte Stanco, Monte Caula, Castelnuovo di Bisano, La Villa, and Monte Ceco. Off the coast, US Navy destroyer Niblack bombards Cape Impeglio, then is damaged in an accidental collision with US Navy destroyer Jouett.

In Britain, the "blackout" is diminished to a "dim-out" as threat of invasion and further (piloted) bombing seems an unlikely possibility.

Pictured: Cpl R Young and Sgt GE Murray both of the Fort Garry Horse repairing the track, Sherman VC firefly tank, Putte, Netherlands, October 6, 1944.; Canadian Calgary Highlanders Sniping Platoon Sergeant H.A. Marshall cleans the telescopic sight of his No.4, MkI(T) rifle during a scouting, stalking and sniping course, Kapellen, Belgium, October 6, 1944.; Tegel district of Berlin October 6, 1944. The target is tentatively defined as the RHEINMETALL-BORSIG AG armored vehicle manufacturing plant. This photo was taken from the aircraft flown by LT Koonce of the 486th Group "B" (high squadron and 92nd CBW Group "D") flying as the #2 wing in the lead element. The camera was a K-21, with a f-stop of 7. The relative base altitude was 26,900 feet.; An American soldier shares his rations with two hungry Italian children, October 6, 1944.

October 7, 1944: Canadian forces (elements of British 21st Army Group) establish two bridgeheads over the Leopold canal but German forces successfully stop the advance and counterattack. The US 1st Army penetrates the German held Siegfried Line to the north of Aachen, attacking Alsdorf, Baesweiler, Kerkrade, and Schmidt. Meanwhile, to the south, forces of US 3rd Army (part of US 12th Army Group) gain some ground in Luxembourg and near Metz, attacking around Echternach, Wormeldange, and Fort Driant. Ferocious German counterattacks prevent significant progress. US 7th Army captures Vagney.

Over the western front, US 8th Air Force attacks Politz with 142 bombers, Ruhland with 59 bombers, Merseburg with 129 bombers, Lutzkendorf with 88 bombers, Bohlen with 86 bombers, Kassel with 310 bombers, Magdeburg with 87 bombers, and targets of opportunity with 510 bombers. US 15th Air Force attacks Vienna with 350 bombers. RAF Bomber Command sends 351 aircraft to attack Kleve, 340 aircraft to attack Emmerich, and 13 aircraft to attack Kembs dam locks on the Rhine.

1st Lieutenant Elmer Taylor and 1st Lieutenant Willard Erfkamp of USAAF 364th Fighter Group, flying P-51 fighters, together shoot down the German Messerschmitt Me-163 Komet rocket fighter piloted by F. Husser; Husser survives the subsequent crash landing. 1st Lieutenant Urban Drew (flying a P-51 fighter) also shoots down two Messerschmitt Me-262 Schwalbe fighters (flown by Oberfeldwebel Heinz Arnold and Leutnant Gerhard Kobert) as they are taking off from Achmer Airfield. The only witness to the two victories, his wingman 2nd Lieutenant Robert McCandliss, is shot down by anti-aircraft fire and captured before the end of the mission, so Drew does not receive credit for these two downings until after the war when McCandliss is released from captivity. This was the first and only time in the war a pilot scored two jet victories in one mission.

The Soviets launch the Petsamo - Kirkenes offensive as the 14th Army of Soviet Karelian Front attacks German XIX Mountain Korps in northern Finland and pushes toward Petsamo. The German 16th Army and 18th Army are withdrawing through Riga. Soviet 1st Baltic Front pushes into eastern suburbs of Memel. Soviet 4th Ukrainian Front attacks the German 1st Panzer Army and 1st Hungarian Army in eastern Hungary while Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front attacks German 6th Army, German 8th Army, and Hungarian 3rd Army in southern Hungary.

In Poland, Jewish prisoners of the Sonderkommando of Auschwitz II-Birkenau Concentration Camp, learning that the SS was going to liquidate much of the squad, plan a revolt and escape. Crematorium IV is set on fire while SS guards come under attack. During the chaos, some of the prisoners are successful in cutting through the perimeter fencing and get outside, but the SS guards respond and successfully round up all escapees - killing them all. After the revolt is put down in the camp about 250 prisoners, including leader Zalmen Gradowski and Józef Deresinski, are dead. Three SS men are also killed; ten are wounded. Four Jewish women who stole the explosives from their workplace at the Union-Werke armaments factory (which were used during this revolt) are later hanged.

In Italy, British 8th Army forces increase the intensity of attacks across Fiumicino River and US 5th Army attacks Monte Stanco, Monte Caula, Monterumici, Monte Castellari, Castelnuovo di Bisano, Monte Ceco, and Monte Cavallara. Overhead, US 12th Air Force aircraft attack targets along the front line and in northern Italy.

In the United Kingdom, the Cabinet decide to continue the censorship of reports of rocket attacks.

Pictured: American troops of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regiment, US 34th Infantry Division resting in Bivouac, France, October 7, 1944.; Destruction in the outer parts of Aachen, October 7, 1944.; The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet was a German rocket-powered fighter - the only rocket-powered fighter ever to have been operational.; PFC. Leonard Starfield, Warren, Ar. [Arkansas], of the 363rd Infantry (US 5th Army) takes off his old boots and tries on the new type, half leather, half rubber and with felt padding inside. Italy, October 7, 1944.

October 8, 1944: On this Sunday, the Allied Expeditionary Forces encounter growing resistance by German forces along the western front at the Siegfried Line. Heavy fighting involves Canadian 2nd Corps (part of Canadian 1st Army) near the Scheldt, the US 19th Corps (part of US 1st Army) and elements of US Ninth Army around Aachen while the US 12th Corps (part of US 3rd Army) continues to battle towards Metz.

As the Battle of Aachen rages on, the left wing of a German counterattack (made up of an infantry regiment, the 1st Assault Battalion, a battle group of the 108th Panzer Brigade, and some 40 armored fighting vehicles scavenged from available units) manages to cut off an American platoon despite fierce resistance, while the right wing reaches a road junction north of the town of Alsdorf. A platoon of Shermans supporting an attack on the town of Mariadorf suddenly finds themselves being attacked from the rear, and are able to repel the Germans only after heavy fighting. Two German Sturmgeschütz IV self-propelled assault guns and a squad of infantry enter Alsdorf, where they are heavily counterattacked. Although the two lumbering vehicles somehow eluded American tanks, they re finally engaged by American infantry and forced back to their starting point. With casualties mounting and the Americans drawing closer, the German high command transferrs the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division to Aachen, followed by the I SS Panzer Corps, which includes the 116th Panzer Division and SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 101, an element of the 1st SS Panzer Division.

In the south, the US 1st Infantry Division begins its offensive, aiming to capture the town of Verlautenheide and Hill 231 (known as "Crucifix Hill") near the town of Ravelsberg. Their attack is preceded by a massive artillery barrage, which helps them seize their objectives quickly. On Crucifix Hill, Captain Bobbie E. Brown, commander of C Company, 18th Infantry, personally silences three pillboxes with pole charges and, despite being wounded, continues to lead his men into the attack, earning the Medal of Honor.

The Czechoslovakian 1st Armored Brigade is deployed to the British 2nd Army in France and British bombers attack the Urft dam on the River Roer, Germany, but are unable to breach it.

On the eastern front, Soviet 4th Ukrainian Front attacks German 1st Panzer Army and 1st Hungarian Army in eastern Hungary while Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front attacks German 6th Army, German 8th Army, and Hungarian 3rd Army in southern Hungary. Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front captures Velika Plana, cutting rail line between Belgrade and Nis. The Bulgarian 2nd Army opens attacks against elements of German Army Group E around Nis.

In Italy, British 8th Army attacks Monte Farneto, Montecodruzzo, San Paola, San Lorenzo, Roncofreddo, and Langiano and US 5th Army attacks around Monte Cauala, Monterumici, Monte Castellari, La Fortuna, Livergnano, Monde della Formiche, Monte Ceco, Portico, and Tredozio. Off the coast, US Navy destroyer Eberle bombards Maurizio harbor.

Pictured: US M10 3in. GMC Wolverine, 702 tank destroyer battalion, in Ubach, Germany. October 8, 1944.; P-38 over Valence, France, October 8, 1944.; The knocked out M4A1 of 2nd Lt Harris, 756th TB in Vagney, France, October 8, 1944.; Italian musicians and singers performing in the New Zealand Forces Club in Florence, Italy, October 8, 1944.

October 9, 1944: From Biervliet, Holland, troops of the Canadian 3rd Division (part of Canadian 2nd Corps) make amphibious landings and enter the Breskens Pocket, on the south bank of the Scheldt, opposite Flushing on Walcheren Island (part of Operation Switchback). Heavy fighting continues around Aachen and Metz between elements of US 12th Army Group and German forces. Later in the day, the US gives a surrender ultimatum to the German garrison at Aachen, which is rejected. US 1st Army attacks Bardenberg, Mariadorf, and Schmidt and US 3rd Army attacks Maizieres-les-Metz but loses Fossieux to German counterattack. US 7th Army clears Foret de Parroy as German forces withdraw overnight.

Near complete air superiority allows the heavy Allied bombing of German targets to continue: US 8th Air Force attacks Schweinfurt with 329 bombers, Koblenz with 360 bombers, Mainz with 210 bombers, and Gustavsburg with 148 bombers. Overnight, RAF Bomber Command sends 435 aircraft to attack Bochum, 47 aircraft to attack Wilhelmshaven, and 12 aircraft to attack Krefeld, Saarbrucken, and Dusseldorf.

On the eastern front, the 14th Army of Soviet Karelian Front continues attacking toward Petsamo while the Soviet 4th Ukrainian Front attacks German 1st Panzer Army and 1st Hungarian Army in eastern Hungary and the Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front completes the destruction of Hungarian 3rd Army.

In Italy, British 8th Army pushes north along Highway 71 while German forces counterattack around San Paola. US 5th Army attacks Monte Cauala, Barga, Monterumici, Livergnano, La Villa, and Gesso. Overhead, US 12th Air Force fighters attack targets around Bologna and Sabbioso. Off the coast, US Navy destroyer Eberle bombards coastal targets.

The Moscow Conference begins: British Prime Minister Churchill and Foreign Secretary Eden arrive to discuss the political future of eastern Europe with the Soviet leader Stalin and Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov. Polish representatives of the government in exile, based in London, are present for some of the talks. Over the next twelve days they discuss Balkan spheres of influence, Poland, and the Soviet entry into the war against Japan.

Pictured: 49th Division transports passing over a Bailey bridge over the Antwerpen-Turnhout Canal, October 9, 1944.; Field Marshal Walter Model and Colonel Wilk traveling in a Kübelwagen to visit the 246th Volksgrenadier Division in Aachen, October 9, 1944.; US bombers from US 8th Air Force on their way to Schweinfurt on , October 9, 1944.; Churchill, Harriman, Stalin, and Molotov at Fourth Moscow Conference, October 9, 1944.

October 10, 1944: It’s Tuesday - today is D+126, marking 18 weeks since the D-Day Invasion at Normandy and the beginning of the liberation of Europe.

Outside of Aachen, the US 1st Infantry Division (part of US 12th Army Group) is in position to link up with the 30th Infantry Division. This is met with a German counterattack toward Hill 231, which is the scene of an intense firefight; the battle ends with the Germans leaving over 40 dead and 35 prisoners. Despite repeated German counterattacks slowing its advance, the 1st Infantry Division is able to capture the high ground surrounding the city. Later, General Huebner delivered a final ultimatum to German forces in Aachen, threatening to bomb the city into submission if the garrison doesn’t surrender. Once again the German commander categorically refuses, and in response, American artillery begins pounding the city early the next day (October 11), firing an estimated 5,000 shells. Aachen is also subjected to intense bombardment by the American air force. US 3rd Army recaptures Fossieux and French 1st Army expands bridgehead across the Moselotte.

The Allied bombings of German manufacturing sites continues, with the US 8th and 15th air forces, along with the RAF sending a combined 546 bombers and fighters on missions.

On the Eastern Front, elements of the Soviet 1st Baltic Front reach the Baltic sea north of Memel (now Klaipeda, Lithuania), cutting off the 26 divisions of German Armeegruppe Nord once and for all. Soviet forces begin attacking Riga, the capital of Latvia. Meanwhile, in southeast Hungary, there is a large armored engagement near Debrecen. German forces are pushed back but then counterattack and destroy a claimed three corps. In Yugoslavia, the 3rd Ukrainian Front continues attacks south of Belgrade. The Belgrade-Nis rail line is cut near Velika Plana.

In Italy, the US 2nd Corps (part of US 5th Army) continues attacking in the direction of Bologna. Difficult terrain and poor weather assist the dug-in German forces defending against the advance but US 5th Army continues to push forward, attacking around Monte Stanco, Monterumici, Livergnano, Monte dell Formiche, Monte della Tombe, Gesso, and Monte Casalino. To the east, British 8th Army forces have crossed the Rubicon River in most areas as German forces withdraw from the river. Overhead, US 12th Air Force fighters conduct ground support missions around Monte delle Formiche and attack other targets in the northern Appenines. US 15th Air Force attacks rail targets in northern Italy with 170 bombers.

Pictured: German grenadiers patrol near Aachen, early October 1944.; German artilleryman in Aachen loading a round into an 88mm Flak 36, October 1944.; Map of the Allied positions surrounding Aachen, October 1944.; A GI tries to extinguish the flames on a burning Jeep on October 10, 1944 in the German city of Alsdorf. The Jeep had been hit during a German artillery barrage.