This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command in England flew Missions 53 and 54 against targets in France. 68 B-26B bombed Nord Airfield at Lille and 68 B-26s bombed Vendeville Airfield at Lille. 1 B-26 was lost. 68 B-26s attacked Boulogne coastal defenses.
....The fighters of JG 26 lost another pilot when Fw. Edgar Dorre of 9./JG 26 (9 kills) was killed in combat.
....Unternehmen Sizilien:The German battleship 'Tirpitz' plus the 'Scharnhorst' and a destroyer flotilla shelled Barentsburg, Spitsbergen, Norway and then landed troops that destroy facilities at Gronfjord and Advent Bay. All of the German forces then returned to their bases in Norway.
....'U-760' was sailing on the surface alongside 'U-262' when they were attacked by an RAF Wellington Mk XIV of No. 179 Squadron based at Gibraltar about 150 miles (241 km) out of Cape of Finisterre. The 'U-760' arrived at Vigo harbor and was put under the supervision of the Spanish Navy cruiser 'Navarra'. After 24 hours the boat had not left the harbour (the neutrality laws allowed this time frame for emergency repairs) and it was interned. The boat was taken to El Ferrol where she remained until the end of the war. On July 23, 1945 'U-760' was taken to England for Operation Deadlight.
....'U-662' was listed as missing in the Bay of Biscay, cause unknown. All hands, 52-men were lost.
.... 'U-669' (Type VIIC) was listed as missing in the Bay of Biscay with all 52 crew on 8 Sept. There is no explanation for its loss.

MEDITERRANEAN: Italian Prime Minister Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio sent a message to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander in Chief Allied Expeditionary Force Mediterranean, repudiating the surrender terms with the Allies. The Italian government was beginning to feel apprehensive of letting Allies freely into Rome. Italy was still capable of fighting for the Allies. Eisenhower, upset over the lack of progress in the surrender talks, broadcast Italy's surrender over the radio at 1830 hours local. Italy was now placed in a tough situation, to either confirm the surrender, or face warring both the Allies and Germany. At 1945 hours local, Badoglio informed his country of the Italian surrender. Italians cheered and the Germans became infuriated. The main body of the Italian Fleet sailed from La Spezia and Genoa with 3 battleships, 6 cruisers, and 9 destroyers to surrender to the Allies.
....The Germans decided to bolster the air units of Luftwaffenkommando Sud-Ost and rushed new units to the area. Units transferring were mainly III. and IV./JG 27 with Bf 109Gs, I. and II./StG 3 with Ju 87Ds, 11./ZG 26 with Ju 88Cs and elements of LG 1 and SAGr 126.
....The British 8th Army liberated Locri.
....US Ninth Air Force B-24s bombed the landing ground at Foggia, as convoys approached Salerno to begin the Allied invasion of Italy (Operation AVALANCHE).
....In Italy, the US Twelfth Air Force sent about 130 B-17s to bomb Frascati; 160+ medium bombers hit a highway at Lauria and bridges at Trebisacce and Saptri; fighters hit Pabillonis, Sardinia, covered Allied forces near Pizzo, and bombed and strafed roads and vehicles in the Lamezia-Vibo Valentia-Pizzo-Catanzaro areas; and bombers hit roads and junctions in the Naples area during the night.

EASTERN FRONT: Stalino, the vital industrial centre of the Donets basin, Krasnoarmeisk and Yasinovataya were liberated by the Soviets.
....Soviet submarine Shch-203 of the Black Sea Fleet was sunk by mines off Cape Tarkhankutskiy, Sevastopol.
....'U-983' was sunk north of Loba, after a collision with 'U-988'. 38 of the 43 crewmen survived.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: Operation 'Starkey' (a rehearsal for the invasion of France), the US Eighth Air Force in England dispatched a record number of 330 heavy bombers against various targets in France. 20 B-17s bombed the industrial area at Paris and 48 others hit the secondary target, the Beaumont Suroise Airfield. They claimed 16-2-9 Luftwaffe aircraft. 2 B-17s were lost. 59 B-17s bombed Tille Airfield at Beauvais, 37 B-17s attacked Nord Airfield at Lille, 52 B-17s bombed Vendeville Airfield at Lille, 51 B-17s hit Vitry-en-Artois Airfield, 28 B-24s bombed Ft Rouge and Longuenesse Airfields at St Omer and 35 B-24s attacked Drucat Airfield at Abbeville. All missions except the Drucat Airfield mission were escorted by 215 P-47 Thunderbolts that claimed 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft. 2 P-47's were lost. The US VIII Air Support Command flew Mission 55 against coastal defenses around Boulogne, France. 202 B-26Bs hit the targets and 3 B-26s were lost. Operation 'Starkey' was a disappointment as the Luftwaffe refused to commit fighter defenses on a large scale, thus preventing possible destruction of many of their aircraft, which Allied air forces hoped to accomplish.
....The Lockheed Ventura made its last operation with RAF Bomber Command.
....Midget submarine "Welman 10" which was being operated by SOE sank alongside the depot ship HMS 'Forth'. The commander (Lt B Pedersen of the Norwegian Army) made an unaided escape to the surface. There were no casualties.
....The pride of the German fleet battered the shore installations and succeeded in putting the radio station out of action when troops of the German 349th Grenadier Regiment landed and blew up the Allied installations. The attacking force comprised two battleships, 'Tirpitz' and the 'Scharnhorst', and ten destroyers. The 'Tirpitz' was Germany's most powerful battleship, yet today's action was the first time that her heavy guns have been in action since she was built two years ago.
....Major Johannes Seifert returned toJG 26 as Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 26. Exiled to Bulgaria on a request from his mother (after his brother died), Major Seifert had appealed to General Galland for his return to combat duty. Galland agreed and returned him to his old unit at Lille.

MEDITERRANEAN: The Italian mainland is invaded in Operations 'Avalanche' and 'Slapstick'. Under protection of the USN's Task Force 80 (Vice Admiral H. Kent Hewitt), the Allied Fifth Army (Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, USA) landed on the assault beaches in the Gulf of Salerno in Operation 'Avalanche' . Salerno had been chosen as the site for the invasion because it was the northern-most point to which the Allies could provide air cover from bases in Sicily. On the left flank, British Commandos and U.S. Rangers landed at Vietri and Maiori respectively with orders to advance northward and capture passes through the hills. The British 46 and 56 Divisions landed south of Salerno meeting strong German resistance but managed to get ashore. The U.S. 36th Infantry Division landed north and south of Paestum and took heavy casualties because of strong German resistance. Once ashore, the Americans met less resistance.
....On the right flank of the British X Corps the 56th British Infantry Division met no opposition as it disembarked on empty beaches, but has come under fierce counter-attacks from tanks as it advances on Montocorvino airfield. Others from the division reached the village of Battipaglia, but - despite the aid of naval gunfire - could not dislodge the Germans. Troops from the 46th Division were driving northwards along the coast road to Salerno itself.
....To the south of the Sele river - which divided the two Allied beach-heads - two regiments of the US 36th "Texas" Division were wading ashore when flares lit the entire scene. The Americans - many facing their first battle - came under withering fire from unseen German defenders and threatened to panic. Weeks of careful planning and rehearsal were forgotten as soldiers dived for cover and landing craft turned back towards the transports out at sea. While the Texas Division sorted itself out - making its way eventually to its first objective, one-and-a-half miles inland - three battalions of US Rangers succeeded in taking Chiunzi Mount during the night. By dawn they had taken the twin peaks overlooking the pass and the main highway to Naples.
....Meanwhile, the British launched Operation 'Slapstick'. The British 1 Airborne Division made an amphibious landing at Taranto and then captured the airfield at Foggia. In the hastily-improvised Operation 'Slapstick', six British warships entered port to land 3,600 British paratroopers on Italian soil. No Germans were to be seen, and the Italian garrison cheered as the British came ashore. Taranto was beyond the range of air fighter cover from Sicily, but the Allies wanted to secure a port to supply advances up Italy's eastern flank. They also wanted to ensure that Italian warships did not fall into German hands; but the Italian fleet is already under way to surrender at Malta.
....German troops tried to occupy Bari harbor. Major General Nicola Bellomo, commander Commander in Chief IX Territorial Defence Command, formed a group of about 100 men and counter-attacked the German position, with himself personally leading the action. After two hours of fighting, the Germans were ousted out of Bari.
....The Germans unleashed a new weapon of warfare which claimed as its first victim one of the Italian ships heading to surrender. The battleship 'Roma' was hit by a "glider bomb" in the Gulf of Asinara off Sardinia and blew up soon after firing her first and last shots in battle. The ship was en route to Malta from the Italian naval base at La Spezia. The Germans have two types of glider bomb - the Ruhrstahl SD-1400 and the Henschel HS-293 - which were released from the air to hit targets on the ground. In effect, they were unmanned missiles which could be used against targets on land as well as at sea. Amongst the 1,523 dead on the 'Roma' was Admiral Carlo Bergamini, commander of the Italian combined battle fleet (hence senior naval commander afloat in the Italian forces.)
....One of the clauses of the armistice between the Allies and Italy specified that the ships of the Italian Navy, bearing black circular panels in sign of surrender, would sail to Malta to await their final destiny. The Italian ships sailed but did not bear the black circular panels. At 0300 hours local, three battleships, the 'Roma', the 'Vittorio Veneto' and 'Littorio', left La Spezia along with 3 cruisers and 8 destroyers. Instead of sailing for Malta, they headed for the naval port of La Maddelena on Sardinia and were sighted by Allied aircraft at dawn. At 1340 hours, the Italians learned that the port had been occupied by the Germans and they turned south and headed for Malta. German aircraft sighted the fleet and attacked but miss. At the same time, 6 Dornier Do 217K-2s of II/KG 100 tookoff from Istres, France, armed with Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-1 (Fritz X) remote control bombs with a 320 kilogram warhead. The first attack came while the ships were about 14 miles (22.5 kilometres) southwest of Cape Testa, Sardinia. The first Fritz X was directed toward the 'Littorio' and it fell near the battleship temporarily blocking the rudder; the crew went to auxiliary rudder and continued. At 1545 hours, a Fritz X struck 'Roma' on the starboard side, goes through the hull and explodes in the water reducing the ship's speed to 10 knots. A second Fritz X hit 'Roma' and exploded in the forward superstructure starting a fire. The ship listed to starboard and sank with 88 officers and 1,264 sailors. Other Italian ships lost were the cruiser 'Taranto', destroyers 'Maestrale', 'Corazziere', 'Nicole Zeno' and FR 21 (Former French destroyer Lion) and Torpedo Boats 'Antonio Cascino' and 'Procione', all of which were scuttled in various ports to prevent German capture. The destroyer 'Antonio Da Noli' sank off Corsica after hitting a mine.
....In the air, USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24s hit the satellite airfield at Foggia in support of British airborne landings. The USAAF Twelfth Air Force sent 100+ B-17s to bomb bridges at Capua and Cancello Arnone, and 240+ B-25s and B-26s to hit railroad-bridges at Potenza and landing ground at Scanzano.
....German forces entered Rome, brushing aside the Italian garrison and forcing the government to flee.
....Iran declared war on Germany.

EASTERN FRONT: The Russians took Bakhmach after an advance west from Konotop. The German 17.Armee began to pull out of its forward position in the Kuban. The Red Army had set out with a powerful thrust towards Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine, which the Germans have turned into a major base. This followed the storming of the railway junction at Bakhmach after two days of fighting. Red Star, the army's newspaper, said "we feel the beginning of the end."
....Lt. Wilhelm 'Willi' Batz of JG 52 scored his 20th victory while Oblt. Walter Nowotny of JG 54 finally reached the 200 kill mark.

GERMANY: Oberst Dr. Ernst Kupfer, Geschwaderkommodore of StG 2 was appointed the first Waffengeneral der Schlachtflieger with 5 Schlachtgeschwader under his command. They comprised 5 Gruppen equipped with Ju 87s, Hs 129s and Fw 190s. Oblt. Hans-Karl Stepp took his place as Geschwaderkommodore of StG 2.

[Njaco]

MEDITERRANEAN: The US front at Salerno was quiet and the front was pushed inland. Most of the German reserves concentrated in the British sector and local counterattacks recaptured positions lost that morning. Other German forces retreated north, intending to form a defensive line across Italy.
....Although now firmly established at Salerno, the Allies did not have enough room between the coast and the Germans to allow use of the ports at Salerno and Vietri. The U.S. 36th Infantry Division, set about capturing high ground from Ogliastro to Albanella. Meanwhile, the British X Corps pushed on at Battipaglia to capture Montecorvino airfield while 46 Division was to clear Salerno and the corridors through the Sorrento peninsula. However, at first light the Germans struck first, driving 56 Division out of Battipaglia but Montecorvino airfield was captured by 3 Coldstream Guards and 2/6th Queen's Regiment, 169 Brigade and Faiano fell without a fight. On X Corps' left, 46 Division troops ended the day in a stalemate with German forces at Cava di Tirreni. At the Gulf's southern end, the U.S. 45th Infantry Division went ashore virtually unmolested to supported the 36th Infantry Division - most defenders having been moved to the north against X Corps.
....The British Eighth Army reached the Catanzaro 'neck' after an advance of about 100 miles (161 km). General Montgomery wished to pause here but was reluctantly persuaded to push forward to relieve pressure on the landings at Salerno. 1 Airborne Division's patrol from Taranto reached Monopoli on the Adriatic Coast and found it clear of Germans, but at Castellanata 10 Parachute Battalion had a sharp engagement in which the Divisional commander, Major-General G. F. Hopkinson, was mortally wounded. V Corps troops were now being shipped into Taranto from where they were intended eventually to come under Montgomery's command.
....German reaction to the Italian surrender was predictably swift. Within hours of Eisenhower's announcement of the Italian surrender, General von Vietinghoff, the commander of the Tenth Army, moved paratroopers and a Panzer division to occupy Rome. Five Italian divisions stationed around Rome appeared ready to defend the city, but capitulated quickly as the German commanders put Unternehmen 'Achse' (Axis) into force. Ironically, the Americans had been preparing a division-strong airborne landing in the city - but cancelled the operation when Marshal Badoglio protested.
....US Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators bombed a satellite airfield at Foggia. US Twelfth Air Force's XII Bomber Command medium bombers hit railroad and road junctions and road net in the Castelnuovo-Pescopagano-Cassino-Capua-Formia areas; B-17 Flying Fortresses attacked the Ariano intersection and highway bridge (and bridges and roads in the area), bridges near Botena and over the Tiber River southwest of Rome, and roads, buildings, and railroad facilities at Isernia; XII Air Support Command and RAF airplanes of the Northwest African Tactical Air Force blasted heavy road movement north from Lauria and covered beachheads in the Salerno area as the British Eighth Army increased pressure on its front in an effort to prevent the Germans from concentrating against the US Fifth Army's Salerno beachhead. During the night, B-25 Mitchells hit communications centers at Corleto, Perticara, Auletta and Saptri.
....A heavy response from the Luftwaffe reached a peak at night when long-range bomber forces of the Luftwaffe flew about 100 sorties over the Allied bridgehead, the strongest reaction by the Kampfgeschwadern since the attacks on Malta in 1942. Units engaged were IV./JG 3, I., II. and III./JG 53, I./JG 77, III./JG 77, II. and III./SKG 10, II./SchG 2, II./LG 1, I. and II./KG 1, III./KG 54, I. and II./KG 76 and II./KG 77. Also involved flying from southern France were 3 Gruppen of KG 30, I. and II./KG 26 using Hs 293 glider bombs and II. and III./KG 100 using Fritz-X bombs.
....Minelayer HMS 'Abdiel' which was bringing in supplies and a holding force after the announcement of the Italian armistice, was sunk in the port of Taranto by German GS type magnetic mines laid the previous evening by MFP478 and S54 and S61. There were 48 casualties amongst the crew plus 120 soldiers.
...."Be pleased to inform Their Lordships that the Italian Fleet lies at anchor under the guns of the Fortress of Malta." With these words Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, the commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, signalled to the admiralty the total surrender of the Italian navy. Flying black flags of surrender and escorted by ships of the Royal Navy, units of the Italian fleet were anchored off Valetta's Grand Harbour. More ships were heading for Gibraltar and other Allied ports, removing the naval threat in the Mediterranean.
....The Allies occuppied the Dodecanese island of Castelrosso.

EASTERN FRONT: Red Army forces try their hand at amphibious landings hitting the Black Sea coast near Novorossiysk. The makeshift nature of the attack created a great deal of confusion among the Soviet units and unexpectedly heavy resistance and quick reaction from the Germans led to heavy losses. A similar assault in the sea of Azoz was conducted at Mariupol. It too was met by heavy resistance from Rumanian artillery units which caused heavy losses. Other Red Army forces took Barvenkovo, Volnovakha and Chaplino.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command flew Mission 56 against 2 locations without loss. 19 B-26Bs bombed the shipyard at Le Trait when the primary target was obscured by clouds and 32 B-26Bs attacked Beaumont le Roger Airfield.
....A Ju 88A-12 from Blindflugschule 4 collided with a Ju 86 and crashed into the water of København southern harbour near the locks about 200 metre from the shore. The crew of four all died and were all laid to rest in København Bispebjerg Cemetery. The Ju 86 was damaged less than 10% and pilot Ofw. Rudolf Rowalowsky landed it safely at Fliegerhorst Kastrup.
....In the late afternoon, in bad weather, W/O Grondowski of RAF No. 315 (Polish) Sqdrn was leading a section consisting of himself and two pilots, Sgt Zygmund and Sgt Kolek, in a local formation flight. Unfortunately, he led them away from the prescribed area, and lost them in the hills beyond Belfast. All three crashed within a short time of each other, W/O Grondowski and Sgt Kolek being killed. Sgt Zygmund had a lucky escape, for he was knocked out when his aircraft crashed, soon came round and was able to climb out of the wreckage and walk to the nearest road.

MEDITERRANEAN: The fighting at Salerno became more chaotic and piecemeal. Typical was the fight on the British 56 Division's front, where 167 Brigade and 201 Guards Brigade were subjected to sudden sharp attacks by infiltrating German units at the 'Tobacco Factory' between Battipaglia and Bellizzi. These attacks were beaten off, but neither British nor German troops were really sure of the situation. In 46 Division's sector, the fighting was also scrappy and disjointed. 139 Brigade was able to gradually relieve the Commando forces at Vietri sul Mare and on the left the US Rangers were reinforced and continued to hold their positions. A three-pronged push in the US VI Corps' sector by the 36th and 45th Infantry Divisions was held up in the left and center as troops of the 29th Panzer Grenadier Division filtered into the fighting on the plain.
....In southern Italy, British 1 Airborne Division entered Bari and then Brindisi. General Bernard Montgomery, Commanding General Eighth Army, pushed forward units of the British 5 Division towards Castrovillari and Belvedere and the Canadian 1 Division towards Crotone. General Harold Alexander's Chief-of-Staff, Major General Alexander Richardson, arrived at Montgomery's headquarters to explain the crisis at Salerno and to offer men and equipment to threaten the South flank of the Germans facing Fifth Army.
....The Italian’s on Rhodes surrender to the Germans.
....In the air, the USAAF Twelfth Air Force's XII Bomber Command sent B-17s to bomb the Benevento marshalling yard and bridge and highway junction nearby; B-25s and B-26s hit highways and junctions at Castelnuovo, Ariano, Mignano, and Isernia; P-40s flew an uneventful sweep over southern Sardinia and USAAF and RAF aircraft of the Northwest African Tactical Air Force continued to provide beachhead cover in the Salerno area, hit road communications throughout the day, and attack road and rail bridges, junctions, airfield, and town areas at Saptri, Corleto, Perticara, Auletta, and Gioia del Colle.
.... German E-boats attacked the USN destroyer USS 'Rowan' (DD-405) in the Gulf of Salerno. 'Rowan' pursued and fired on the enemy, then, as her quarry pulled away, ceased firing and changed course to rejoin the convoy she was escorting back to Oran, French Morocco. Within 5 minutes a new contact was made, range less than 3,000 yards (2.7 kilometres). Again she changed course, to avoid torpedoes and bring her guns into position. As the range decreased to 2,000 yards (1.8 kilometres), 'Rowan' was hit by a torpedo. She sank in less than a minute, taking 202 of her 273 officers and men with her.
....Off the coast of Salerno in the morning, the USN light cruiser USS 'Savannah' (CL-42) was struck by a remote controlled Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-1 (Fritz X) glide bomb launched by a Do-217K-2 of III/KG 100. It pierced through the armored turret roof of the Number 3 Gun Turret, passing through three decks into the lower handling room where it exploded causing a gaping hole in the bottom, and tore open a seam in the ship's port side. For 30-minutes, secondary explosions in the gun room hampered firefighting efforts; 197 crewmen were killed and 15 seriously wounded. The ship arrived at Malta on 12 September and then departed for the U.S. in December.

EASTERN FRONT: German officers captured by the Red Army formed an anti-Hitler association, the "Bund deutscher Offiziere".

[Hugh Spencer]

13th September 1943
5 Oboe Mosquitoes went to Cologne and 5 to Duisburg without loss.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Stary Kermenchik, in the Donets basin, was liberated by Russian units.

MEDITERRANEAN: Hand-picked paratroopers crash-landed by glider on an Italian mountainside and snatched Mussolini to freedom. In a brilliant operation involving a hair-raising take-off down a rocky slope in a tiny aircraft, Il Duce was delivered safely to an airfield at Pratica di Mare. Hitler's order for the rescue of the former dictator was given to SS-SturmbannFührer Otto Skorzeny. He first had to locate Mussolini, whom the Italians had moved about since his arrest and fall of the 25th of July, to avoid a rescue attempt. Mussolini had been held under guard in a seaside boarding house and later in a villa on a Sardinian island. News of Italy's surrender, including the condition that he would be handed over to the Allies, was kept from him.
....Two weeks ago il Duce was moved to the Albergo di Campo Imperatore hotel, 7,000 feet up the Gran Sasso mountain in the Apennines, where he was guarded by carabinieri. The hotel is about 93 miles east-northeast of Rome at an altitude of 6,652 feet. The Italian Military Intelligence (SIM) attempting to hide the former leader from the German Intelligence agents. The only access was by cable car. An intercepted radio message gave Skorzeny the answer to his quest. But how was he to reach the hotel, normally only accessible by cable car? During a reconnaissance flight, Skorzeny saw a small lawn just behind the hotel and this was the spot on which he decided to land. A paratroop drop was out because of the altitude leaving only gliders to get the German troops into the hotel. At Practica di Mare Aerodrome Skorzeny, his Luftwaffe paratroopers from Fallsirmjager-Lehr-Battalion under the command of Major Mors and fifty SS men belonging to Skorzeny's unit, prepared for the operation which included occupying the railway terminal to prevent reinforcement by Italian troops. The raiding force were equipped with amongst other things explosives, laughing gas and forged British bank notes. The twelve DFS 230C-1 gliders, capable of carrying eight fully equipped soldiers, begin lifting off at 1230 hours local and shortly after, four of the twelve dropped out on the way for various reasons with the lead two disappearing. The "small lawn" Skorzeny had seen on his flight was in fact a small piece of very steep ground with a sheer drop at the end meaning that the gliders would have to crash land near the hotel. All gliders landed but one crash landed and injured all on board; Skorzeny's glider stopped short only a few yards from the hotel doors. He raced up to the hotel doors and kicked them in and preceded to put an Italian radio operator and his radio out of action. He made contact with Mussolini and declared "Duce, I have come to rescue you!" In four minutes the Italian dictator was outside the hotel and boarding a Fiesler Fi 156 Storch light aircraft ready to fly back to the aerodrome. Although the Fi 156 had only two seats, Skorzeny insisted that he wanted to fly back to base with Mussolini. This made the plane overloaded and 12 men held the plane on his place as the pilot ran up the engine. Finally he raised his arm and the men let go of the plane, the plane sped ahead, almost hitting a large rock, and finally disappeared over the edge. The plane landed in Rome and Mussolini and Skorzeny were flown to Vienna. The propaganda value of this mission was immense and Skorzeny and his SS men were featured in most of the media broadcasts. The truth is that the entire Gran Sasso mission was planned by Luftwaffe General Student and the Fallschirmjäger Lehr Battalion under the command of Major Mors. Only two gliders contained Skorzeny and his men from the Jagdverbande with the rest from the Fallschirmjäger Lehr Battalion. Skorzeny was responsible for Mussolini's safety and his delivery to Hitler but the mission itself was in overall command of the paratroops. Not surprisingly, they were somewhat annoyed when Skorzeny and the SS received all the kudos. Gen. Student even had the Luftwaffe make a film showing the paratroops version of events.
....British Eighth Army forces on the toe of Italy captured Crotone and pushed north, and on the Taranto front occuppied territory up to north of Castelaneta. Fighting at Salerno was marked by the effective use of the Hermann Göring Panzer Division. In the Salerno beachhead, the Germans began their first major counterattack late in the day and the German 29th Panzergrenadier Division and 16th Panzer Division drove the British out of Battipaglia once more. The British unit in the Molina Pass was under heavy pressure from the Hermann Goering Panzer Division.
....The US Twelfth Air Force's XII Bomber Command sent B-17s to bomb the Mignano road defiles, the Benevento road bridge, and the Frosinone airfield; medium bombers hit Ariano (and trucks and road nearby), Isernia, and Castelnuovo and Formia road junctions; US and RAF aircraft of the Northwest African Tactical Air Force attacked motor transport movement, roads, and bridges in the Potenza-Auletta areas.
....The German submarine 'U-617' ran aground under British aerial attack by RAF Hudsons of No 48 and No 233 Squadrons and FAA Swordfish Mk IIs of No 833 and No. 886 Squadrons, all four based at Gibraltar, in the Mediterranean near Melilla. The wreck was destroyed by gunfire from the RN corvette HMS 'Hyacinth' and the RAN minesweeper HMAS 'Woollongong'. All 49 crewmen on the U-boat survived.

WESTERN FRONT: A Ju 88 belonging to IV./NJG 3 was on a training flight when it hit the ground at Tværmose about two kilometres west of Fliegerhorst Grove. The Ju 88 disintegrated upon impact, a fire erupted and the wreckage was engulfed in flames. The aircraft was a 100% loss and the crew of three died.

[Hugh Spencer]

14th September 1943
8 Lanasters of 617 Sqdn set out with a new 12,000 lb bomb (not the 12,000 lb Tallboy 'earthquake' bomb developed later) to attack the banks of the Dortmund-Ems Canal near Ladbergen. While the force was over the North Sea, however, a weather reconnaissance Mosquito reported that there was fog in the target area and the Lancasters were recalled. The aircraft of Flight Lieutenant D.J.H. Maltby, one of the original members of the squadron that had attacked the Ruhr dams, crashed into the sea and the crew were all killed. Maltby's body was washed ashore and is buried at Wickhambreux near Canterbury in Kent. The names of the other 6 crew members are on the Runnymede Memorial for the Missing.
8 Mosquitoes made a nuisance raid on Berlin, 1 aircraft lost.

[Njaco]

ENGLAND: The US Eighth Air Force activated the 1st, 2d, and 3d Bombardment Divisions at Brampton Grange, Horsham St Faith and Camp Blainey respectively. They were formed from complements of VIII Bomber Command's 4 bombardment wings which were redesignated Combat Bombardment Wing (Heavy) effective this date; each bombardment division was organized into combat bombardment wings. Commanding Officers of the Bombardment Divisions were Major General Robert B Williams (1st), Brigadier General James P Hodges (2d), and Major General Curtis E LeMay (3d).

MEDITERRANEAN: At Salerno the Germans rapidly reinforced the battle area, and the Allied situation continued to deteriorate. German General Heinrich von Vietinghoff launched a major counter-attack against the Allied beachhead, albeit with divisions which were not yet fully reconstituted after the fighting in Sicily. The Hermann Goering and 15th Panzer Grenadier Divisions attacked the British X Corps, while elements of the 26th and 29th Panzer Grenadier and the 16th Panzer Divisions drove against the U.S. VI Corps and the lightly defended area along the Sele River. The Germans penetrated the American lines during the afternoon, overrunning a battalion of the 36th Infantry Division and threatening the rear of the Allied position.
....For a time, the situation was so precarious that Lieutenant General Mark Clark, Commanding General U.S. Fifth Army, directed his staff to begin planning to evacuate one of the two beachheads and land its forces on the other. American resistance stiffened along the Calore River as artillery, tank, and tank destroyer units held their ground, pouring shot after shot directly into the attacking Germans. By nightfall the German attacks faltered, and the Allies began to regroup.
.... Seaborne reinforcements from Sicily could not arrive in time, and British Eighth Army advances were being slowed by heavily damaged roads and logistic problems. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander in Chief Allied Expeditionary Force Mediterranean, had earlier made the 82d Airborne Division available to Fifth Army, and Clark requested its use. The airborne unit represented the only force that could move to the area rapidly enough to make a difference. During the night of 13-14 September, 80+ USAAF Twelfth Air Force C-47 Skytrains dropped 1,300 soldiers of the 504th PIR into the beachhead ; these troops immediately moved into defensive positions bolstering the 36th Infantry Division.
....In southern Italy, the British Eighth Army continued to advance and took Cosenza.
....In the air, RAF heavy bombers, under the operational control of the USAAF Ninth Air Force's IX Bomber Command, hit Potenza. B-17s of the USAAF Twelfth Air Force's XII Bomber Command bombed roads in the Torre del Greco area, a highway at Sala Consilina, and a road junction, railway and bridge at Atena Lucana; B-25s attacked a viaduct, rail and road junctions, and rail lines in the Pompeii-Castellammare di Stabia-Torre Annuziata areas; XII Air Support Command A-36 Apaches destroyed 25 to 30 vehicles near Potenza, and fighters maintained convoy patrol. USAAF and RAF light and medium bombers of the Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force hit town areas, road junctions, and vehicles in the Auletta-Pompeii-Sala Consilina-San Severino Rota areas.
....In Greece, fighting was reported between the Italian Acqui division and German units at Cephalonia. 1646 Italians would be killed in the fighting before they would surrender a week later.
....A German Fritz X guided aerial bomb crippled British carrier HMS 'Uganda' off Salerno, Italy.

EASTERN FRONT: Hptm. Gunther Rall, Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 52 was awarded the Schwerter.

WESTERN FRONT: General Josef Kammhuber was appointed commander of all the Luftwaffe night-fighting units. But he was on shaky ground. Goering felt slighted by Kammhuber when he disagreed with the "Einsitzer" nachtjagd concept then taking root and also by not attending a crisis meeting held by Goering following the Hamburg raids.
....20 year old Uffz. Herbert Schopel of 1./SAGr 128 was killed at Brest-Sud when his Fw 190A-5 suffered engine failure.
....While flying over the sea the right hand engine of a Ju 88C-6 from 10./NJG 3 caught fire and Pilot Lt. Helmut Alberti turned back towards land. Engineer Gefreiter Otto Kramm however bailed out before the Ju 88 reached the coast and landed in the sea and died. The Ju 88 crashed at Vester Hjulskov in a field belonging to Farmer A. Thøgersen. Lt. Alberti had bailed out too late at too low an altitude as his body was found near the wreckage.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command in England flew Mission 57: 108 B-26B Marauders were dispatched to the Woenisdrecht Airfield in the Netherlands and Nord Airfield at Lille, France; they were recalled due to weather.

EASTERN FRONT: Hitler ordered his armies to withdraw to the Panther Line, between Kiev and Vitebsk. The Germans announced they were evacuating Bryansk. The Russians were still up against a heavy rearguard action. Novorossiysk, in the Kuban, was also heavily contested.
....Lt. Wilmans, wingman to the Geschwaderkommodore of JG 52, flying a Bf 109, failed to return after combat near Turkenovka.
....Oblt. Walter Nowotny of I./JG 54, scored his 204th victory, becoming the highest scoring Experte at this time. Also at JG 54, the Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 54, Hptm. Erich Rudorffer shot down 5 Russian planes.
....In Norway, Ofw. Erich Beulich of 7./JG 5 (10 kills) went missing in action. Fw. Franz Dorr was appointed Staffelkapitaen of 7./JG 5.

MEDITERRANEAN: At Salerno, the Germans attacked the entire Allied front throughout the daylight hours, searching for weaknesses. Their efforts were unsuccessful. The British 7 Armoured Division began landing in the British X Corps sector, and the U.S. 180th Infantry Regiment, the remaining regiment of the 45th Infantry Division, landed behind VI Corps to become the Fifth Army reserve. During the night, C-47 Skytrains dropped the 2,105 men of the 505th Regimental Combat Team (505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 456th Parachute Field Artillery and Company A, 307th Engineers) south of the Sele River to strengthen the beachhead.
....By the evening, with more supplies ashore and reinforcements arriving, the crisis had passed. Although the two night airborne drops into the Salerno beachhead had been executed flawlessly, another airborne operation was less successful. The 640 men of the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment jumped some 20 miles (32 kilometres) north of the British X Corps at Avellino during the evening to disrupt German resupply and communications lines. The paratroopers had been ordered to harass the Germans for about five days and then either to infiltrate to the beachhead or to link up with advancing forces. Of the 40 planes involved in the operation, only 15 dropped their cargo within 4 miles (6 kilometres) of the drop zone; 23 planes scattered paratroopers between 8 and 25 miles (13 and 40 kilometres) from the intended target, and the drop site of the remaining two planes was unknown. Of the 640 men who jumped, 400 made it safely back to Allied hands several days later after launching small raids in the German rear.
....In the air, Allied heavy bombers, diverted from attacks on strategic targets in Germany, interdicted German units and supplies flowing toward the beachhead and struck German units in assembly areas and attacked positions. USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24s hit a marshalling yard at Pescara while RAF heavy bombers, under operational control of the IX Bomber Command, hit Potenza. The USAAF Twelfth Air Force's XII Bomber Command sent B-17s, B-25 Mitchells, and B-26s to attack highways, road junctions and defiles, bridges, town areas, railroads, marshalling yard, barracks, and numerous targets of opportunity, including several gun positions, in or near Avellino, Pompeii, Torre Annunziata, Auletta, Baronissi, San Severino Rota, Battipaglia, and Eboli; USAAF and RAF fighter-bombers and light and medium bombers of the Northwest African Tactical Air Force flew well over 500 sorties, mainly against bridges, and towns in the battle area or around Battipaglia, Eboli, Potenza Torre Annunziata, Benevento, Auletta, and Avellino.
....In southern Italy, elements of the British Eighth Army entered Bari in the east and Belvedere in the west.
....Free French commandos were landed on Corsica to form resistance groups to harass the Germans occupying the island.
....The elite British Boat Service, a watery cousin to the SAS, landed on the Aegean island of Kos.
....German Lieutenant General Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin received orders from Adolf Hitler to execute some 200 captured Italian officers. He refused.
....Off Salerno, U.S. freighter SS 'Bushrod Washington' was set afire by a Hs-293 rocket propelled glidebomb hit and was abandoned. Tug 'Hopi' (AT-71) assisted boats with the latter's survivors. One Armed Guard sailor, four merchant seamen and ten stevedores perished in the explosion and fires. Fire-fighting efforts, however, ultimately proved unavailing for 'Bushrod Washington' sank off Salerno, Italy.

[Hugh Spencer]

15th September 1943
209 Halifaxes, 120 Stirlings, 40 Lancasters and 5 American B-17s attacked Montlucon, 3 aircraft lost.
This was a moonlit raid on the Dunlop rubber factory at Montlucon in central France. The Pathfinders marked the target accurately and the Master Bomber, Wing Commander D.F.E.C. Deane, brought the Main Force in well to carry out some accurate bombing. Every building in the factory was hit and a large fire was started. This appears to be the last occasion on which the Pathfinders used the Master Bomber technique until the spring of 1944. No report of the raid was available from France.
8 Lancasters of 617 Sqdn took off to carry out the postponed raid on the banks of the Dortmund-Ems Canal but the area was misty and 5 aircraft were lost including those of Pilot Officer L.G. Knight, another of the Dams Raid survivors, and the new squadron commander, Sqdn Ldr G. Holden. These heavy losses, and the losses of the Dams Raid, confirmed that low level attacks on German targets, even when away from major defended areas, were not viable with heavy bombers and this type of operation was not repeated. 617 Sqdn now started retraining as a specialist high-altitude-bombing unit.

[Hugh Spencer]

16th September 1943
170 Halifaxes, 127 Stirlings and 43 Lancasters attacked the important railway yards at Modane on the main railway route from France to Italy. 5 American B-17s also took part. The markings of the target, situated in a steep valley, was not successful and the bombing was not accurate. No report was available from France. 3 aircraft were lost.
12 Lancasters, 8 from 617 Sqdn and 4 from 619, attempted to bomb the railway viaduct near Cannes on the coastal railway line leading to Italy but no direct hits were scored. 1 Lancaster of 619 Sqdn was lost. It came down in the sea off Portugal, possibly while trying to reach Gibraltar.
5 Mosquitoes went to Berlin without loss.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Bomber Command flew 2 missions with the loss of 6 bombers. Mission 95, in 3 forces, was flown against aviation facilities in France. 87 B-17s attacked the Romilly-sur-Seine air depot and 139 B-17s attacked three targets. 40 hit the Caudron-Renault industrial area in Paris, 21 hit the Billancourt-Renault works and 78 hit the Hispano-Suiza aircraft engine works in Paris. They claimed 12-2-4 Luftwaffe aircraft and 5 B-17s were lost, mostly by JG 2 and JG 26. 47 B-24s hit Chartres Airfield and claimed 3-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft. 1 B-24 was lost.
....The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command flew Mission 58 against 2 airfields in France without loss. 72 B-26B Marauders were dispatched to Nord Airfield at Lille but the mission was aborted due to weather. 68 B-26Bs hit Merville Airfield at 1745 and 1748 hours.
....An RAF Lancaster of No. 617 Squadron dropped the first 12,000-lb bomb on the Dortmund-Ems Canal.
....The Hamburg disaster in August and the increased US Eighth Air Force activity over Germany created a strong need for a more flexible command structure. A sweeping re-organization and complete restructuring of the system was called for and orders were issued. Jagdfliegerfuhrer Bretagne was reformed at St. Pol-Brias in northeast France (ex-Stab./Jagdfliegerfuhrer 2) under 4.jagddivision and later under II Jagdkorps. The Stab remained at St.Pol-Brias and from there controlled fighter defenses over northeast FRance and Belgium. Oberst Karl Viek was named as Jagdfliegerfuhrer. But re-organizing the Stab and communications system required time and the new organization became effective later.
....As a result of these changes, General der Nachtjagd Josef Kammhuber was fired by Goering and this led to an intense focus on the entire Nachtjagd static defense system.

EASTERN FRONT: Nezhin fell to Rokossovsky's troops. Dyatkovo was evacuated by the Germans.

MEDITERRANEAN: At Salerno the counterattack by the Germans was halted for them to regroup. HMS 'Valiant' and 'Warspite' joined the warships offshore in their bombardment of German positions. The British 8th Army continued its advance. British Eighth Army forces reached Saptri, threatening the enemy with entrapment between US and British forces.
Procida in Naples Bay was captured by the Allies.
....Alexander replaced General Dawley of the British VI Corps.
....US Ninth Air Force B-24s hit a marshalling yard at Potenza and attacked railroads and warehouses in the areas around Potenza, Altamura, Gravina di Puglia, and Matera. US Twelfth Air Force B-17s bombed highways and a railroad at Torre del Greco while B-25 Mitchells and B-26s hit highways and road junctions at or near Torre Annunziata, Battipaglia, Eboli, Serre, Auletta, and Polla. The US XII Air Support Command and other Northwest African Tactical Air Force elements attacked buildings, railroads, highways and motor transport in support of US Fifth Army as German counterattacks astride Sele River subsided.
....Much to the disapproval of their American allies, British troops have landed on Kos, a Dodecanese island only a mile from the Turkish coast. The 5,000-strong Italian garrison was fighting with them. Such was the low priority given to this operation that General Eisenhower refused the use of landing craft, and Britain's Special Boat Squadron was forced to requisition Greek fishing caiques to land in Kos. The SBS was joined by 120 men of the 11th Parachute Battalion dropped from Dakotas, before the main body of troops, the 1st Battalion Durham Light Infantry, flew in. The British and their Italian allies were under continual attack from the Luftwaffe, and troops from a Dakota were interned in Turkey after the aircraft was forced down on the sea by a Messerschmitt. Hitler diverted aircraft from all parts of the Mediterranean to the Dodecanese. Eisenhower, on the other hand, ruled that the Aegean "campaign" as no more than a British side-show.
....Mussolini returned to power in Italy (at least the northern half). It was a political move and had little real impact.
....German planes bombed Allied shipping off Salerno. U.S. freighter SS 'James W. Marshall' was damaged by a glide bomb. Two tank landing craft (LCT) alongside caught fire, and the resultant blaze compelled the abandonment of the freighter. Thirteen of the ship's merchant complement perished as do 50 Army stevedores working cargo. Amphibious command ship 'Biscayne' (AVP-11) provided aid for many survivors. Liberty ship 'William Bradford' was strafed by German planes. There were no casualties among the freighter's merchant or Armed Guard complements. LCT-241 was sunk by an aerial bomb. LCT-209 was destroyed when the freighter 'Bushrod Washington' exploded when the uncontrolled fires (started the previous day when the ship suffered a direct bomb hit) reached the 500-pound bombs stowed forward. LCT-19 was sunk by a rocket bomb.

ENGLAND: A Halifax bomber flying from Croft airfield, County Durham, was abandoned by the crew at 12.45 after the pilots escape hatch blew off, causing loss of control. Six of the crew baled out, one stayed with the plane and was killed when it crashed at Stillington near York.
....United States 101st Airborne Division troops arrived in England.