November 1944

(Britain)               

The first V-2 Rocket (“Vengeance Weapon 2”) was successfully launched against London on the 8^th September 1944, in retaliation for the bombing of German cities by the Allies. By the 10^th November 1944 the Nazis launched up to eight V-2s daily against Britain. From October 1944 to March 1945 when the war ended a total of 3,172 V-2 Rockets were fired at Britain, Belgium, France and the Netherlands

(Liberation of Europe)                                                                                                                                                         

Following the success of the Battle of Normandy (D-Day) the Allies began a series of rapid advances into the low-countries. All supplies were being brought into Cherbourg in north-west Normandy. As they were so far away from the front line the Allies supply line was totally stretched. British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery decided that Operation Market Garden (Battle for Arnhem) was to be prioritised after Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk had been liberated. When the failed Operation Market Garden was called off, the intention to liberate the port of Antwerp was the next priority.

The port of Antwerp had been captured by the Allies on the 4^th September1944. Access to the inland port from the North Sea is the River Scheldt running along the west coast of the island of Walcheren. The island and surrounding areas were vigorously defended by the reinforced Germans who were aware the Allies needed to have access to have access to the port of Antwerp. The Allied advance was slow due to the supply chain from Normandy. On the 2^nd November 1944 Belgium was liberated and the port of Zeebrugge was captured. The day before, the 1^st November 1944, 0peration Infatuate II (Battle of the Scheldt), began. The attacks of Infatuate II were amphibious landings at Westkapelle, Walcheren. The landing craft were “Buffalo” developed to negotiate water-logged conditions. They transported assault troops and conventional armoured vehicles who otherwise would not be able to advance. In the shallow waters, naval support was required to assist the landings in the form of Support Squadron Eastern Flank (SSEF). Additional support was from a battleship and two monitors. Monitor vessels were gun platforms whose guns outranged German heavy shore batteries. As the landings began, due to bad weather conditions, no air support was available or spotter aircraft to guide the shallow draught naval guns on to the German defences. Fully alerted, the German coastal artillery took a toll on the SSEF where twenty ships were either sunk or too badly damaged to be repaired. The Canadian First Army with Polish and British assistance used landing craft and specialised armoured vehicles to gain superiority on the island. The defences, known as “Fortress Walcheren” were being overrun with both the towns of Westkapelle and Domburg being captured on the 3^rd November 1944. Minesweepers were ordered to begin to remove mines from the river on the 4^th November 1944 in anticipating the fall of “Fortress Walcheren”. Numerous amphibious attacks were slowed down when the Germans flooded vast land areas in the estuary. On the 6^th November 1944 the island’s capital Middelburg was captured by “Buffalo” tanks forcing an end to German resistance. With the Germans facing overwhelming forces they surrendered on the 8^th November 1944. The Scheldt Estuary had been cleared of all naval mines and underwater obstacles by Royal Navy minesweepers by the 28^th November 1944. The first convey led by Canadian freighter Fort Cataraqui entered Antwerp on the 28^th November 1944. Antwerp became the major supply route from Britain.

During the Alsace/Lorraine Campaign, in France, the cities of Metz and Strasbourg were liberated on the 23^rd November 1944. The Battle of Metz was fought between the U.S. Third Army commanded by Lt. General George Patton and the German Army commanded by General Otto von Knobelsdorff. With the Germans retreating, Allied command had halted the advance of the Allied armies south of the supply route to Arnhem. The halting of the advance enabled the Germans to fortify Metz and surrounding forts. The U.S. army resumed their advance on the 3^rd November 1944. Despite heavy fighting with huge losses to both sides the Americans entered Metz on the 18^th November 1944. Hostilities formally ended on the 23^rd November 1944, however, a number of isolated forts continued to hold out. In order to preserve ammunition for advance into Germany direct assault on the forts were forbidden. By the 29^th November 1944 most of the forts surrendered one by one and the last to surrender was Fort Jeanne d’Arc on the 13^th December 1944. Meanwhile further to the east the Liberation of Strasbourg was about to begin. The French 2^nd Army Division, commanded by General Philippe Leclerc, arrived at the city of Strasbourg on the 21^st November 1944. The Leclerc led 2^nd Army raised the Free French tricolor over Strasbourg Cathedral on the 23^rd November 1944. The raising of the tricolor was considered by the Allies to be the last major objective in the Liberation of France,

(Germany)

In February 1941 Nazi Germany’s Battleship Tirpitz was commissioned and entered service into the Kreigsmarine (Navy). She was the second of two Bismarck-class battleships and was similarly armed as her sister ship Bismarck. With the sinking of Bismarck in May 1941, Tirpitz received a series of modifications adding an additional 2,000 tons to her structure. Not only was she heavier than her sister ship but the heaviest in Western Europe. In 1941 Tirpitz was deployed to Norway in order to attack convoys bound for the Soviet Union. Fuel shortages frequently kept Tirpitz at her anchorage and she became known as the “Lonely Queen of the North” as she was rarely deployed. The Royal Navy retained sufficient ships in the area to contain her. Tirpitz had been seriously damaged by British mini-submarines in September 1943, and by April 1944 had been repaired. British Enigma decrypts revealed that Tirpitz was to conduct sea trials immediately. 40 Barracuda dive bombers dropped armour-piercing bombs, of which 15 scored direct hits and two near misses. She was again repaired and as a consequence had anti-aircraft guns fitted. Various RAF bombing attempts to destroy the vessel were unsuccessful. By September 1944 Lancaster bombers, each carrying one 12,000 ^lb “Tallboy” bomb were to be deployed to penetrate the ship’s heavy armour. On the 15^th November 1944, 32 Lancaster bombers, flying from their base in Russia, attacked Tirpitz and one “Tallboy”penetrated the ship and exited through the keel. A second “Tallboy” hit amidships and caused severe damage by blowing a hole in the ship’s side and bottom. The hole caused the ship to list 30 to 40 degrees before her captain gave the order to abandon ship. The list increased to 60 degrees and shortly after a large explosion completed the task of sinking Tirpitz. Up to 1,200 German sailors lost their lives with the sinking of the ship and approximately 200 sailors survived. “Tirpitz lived an invalid’s life and died a cripple’s death” was the comment Ludovic Kennedy wrote in his history of Tirpitz.

In June 1941 in readiness for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, (Operation Barbarossa), the Nazi Party required a military headquarters in Eastern Europe. The site was to be close to the front line, but safely enough away from the enemy. The site near Rustenburg in East Prussia was chosen. The complex was known as the “Wolf’s Lair” and completed in June 1941. Fuhrer Adolf Hitler arrived for the first time a few days later. On the 20^th November 1944, with the Red Army approaching East Prussia, Hitler retreated to Berlin and left the “Wolf’s Lair” for the final time. 

(Eastern Front)

In Poland, the Sonderkammndo Revolt had been suppressed in Auschwitz Concentration Camp by the German Waffen-SS in late October 1944. The Sonderkammndos (special work force) were approximately 1,000 segregated Jews whose task was to feed the murdered Jews into the furnaces of the crematoria. The last mass transport of Jews arrived at Auschwitz on the 30^th October 1944. On the 2^nd November 1944 Reichfuhrer- SS Heinrich Himmler ordered the SS to halt the gas chamber murders. Finally, realising Germany was losing the war, on the 26^th November 1944 Himmler ordered the Auschwitz site to be destroyed. The remaining Sonderkammndos began to clear the site and dismantle the buildings.

The Baltic Offensive, which began on the 14^th September 1944, was a battle between the Red and German armies in the Balkan States. Beginning on the 27^th September 1944 the Moonsund Landing Operation was an amphibious landing on Estonian Islands. On the 25^th November 1944 the Moonsund Landing Operation ended with the Red Army victorious.

(Pacific)

In December 1941 Japan entered the Second World War after the attack on Pearl Harbour. During February 1942 they captured the island of Singapore, resulting in the surrender of British and Commonwealth forces. On the 5^th November 1944 the first of eleven long range air raids by U.S. bombers were conducted against Japanese-occupied Singapore. 76 B-29 bombers were despatched from their bases near Kharagpur. India. Each B-29 carried two 1,000lb bombs owing to the extreme range to the target. King George VI Graving Dock was the primary target, with a secondary target of Pangkalan Brandan refinery in Sumatra. With only two bombs on board the bombers were instructed to fly lower than normal bombing height for greater accuracy. The raider’s accuracy was such that the dock was rendered un-serviceable for three months. Damage to the dock ensured that the stricken battleships from the Battle of Leyte Gulf could not be repaired. Seven B-29s attacked the refinery and lost two from flying accidents. Japanese anti-aircraft guns were minimal. The next raid on Singapore was on January 1945.

During the Battle of Leyte Gulf, U.S. aircraft carrier USS Lexington was pursuing the retiring Japanese fleet on the 5^th November 1944. She was struck by a Japanese kamikaze aircraft near her control island structure. Most of the carrier island structure was destroyed and fire from the kamikaze aircraft was sprayed in all directions. She was able to continue normal flight action within twenty minutes when all major fires were under control. An American fighter was able to take off and shoot down a kamikaze pilot. Arriving in Ulithi on the 9^th November 1944 for battle damage repairs the crew heard that Tokyo had once again claimed Lexington had been sunk. During the kamikaze attack Lexington’s losses were 50 killed and 132 wounded.

Departing from their recently built airfields on the Mariana Islands, 111 Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers attacked Tokyo for the first time on the 24^th November 1944. The Mariana Islands are located 1,500 miles (2,400 km) south of Tokyo. The B-29 was capable of reaching the target and returning without having to refuel. The aircraft were capable of reaching speeds up to 350 mph (560 km/h) and altitude of 31,800 ft. (9,700 m) whereby Japanese fighter aircraft could not catch them. Very few Japanese fighters were able to reach that altitude and were easy prey to defensive gunners. The attacks were continued until the end of the war. The attack against Tokyo on the 24^th November 1944 was the first attack since the Doolittle Raid in April 1942.

U.S. aircraft carrier USS Intrepid was another carrier involved in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. On the 27^th October 1944 Intrepid was hit on the port side gun position by a Japanese kamikaze suicide fighter. The damage to the carrier was minimal. On the afternoon of the 25^th November 1944 Intrepid was again struck by two kamikazes causing a serious fire. Whilst the carrier remained on station the fires were extinguished within two hours. During the kamikaze attack 69 U.S. sailors lost their lives. On the 26th November 1944 she departed for repairs in San Francisco arriving on the 20^th December 1944

(Other Areas)

Field Marshall Sir John Dill was a senior British Officer who served in both the Great War and Second World War. At end of 1941 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill posted Dill to Washington D.C. as his personal representative. He attended many conferences as Churchill’s representative. He was also immensely important in getting the Chiefs of Staff of both countries to function to joint satisfaction. He was particularly friendly with American General George Marshal and the two exercised a lot of influence on President Roosevelt. Whilst stationed in Washington, on the 4^th November 1944 Dill died of Aplastic Anaemia. A memorial service was held in Washington National Cemetery as a mark of respect and affection he had earned. The route to Arlington National Cemetery was lined by thousands of troops including his friend George Marshall who was visibly stricken. Following a simple service at the graveside, American Joint Chief of Staff sent a message of condolence to their British colleagues. An equestrian statue of Sir John Dill was erected over his grave. His statue is one of only two at the cemetery, the other being Major-General Philip Kearny, a Union officer during the American Civil War. In 1944 Dill was posthumously awarded the American Army Distinguished Medal.

The 32^nd President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt was first elected in 1933 and by the time the U.S. entered the war in 1941 he was in his third presidency. War production under his administration was healthy.  With the war in the Pacific against the Japanese and in Europe against the Axis powers, Roosevelt decided to run for his fourth term of office. On the 7^th November 1944 Roosevelt was re-elected and chose Harry Truman as his deputy.                        

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