World war II chronology - August 1944

1 August 1944	In France, George Patton's US 3rd Army is activated. Omar Bradley moves up to command the US 12th Army Group. Courtney Hodges commands the US 1st Army. Adolf Hitler orders Günther von Kluge to strike from Mortain, France, to recapture Avranches.
3 August 1944	Lieutenant-General Kenneth Stuart, Chief of Staff at Canadian Military Headquarters, London, England, assures the Canadian government that there are sufficient reserve troops for the duration of the war. Heinrich Himmler orders the entire Stauffenberg family exterminated. Tens of thousands of family members are arrested. Some are killed, some infants are sent away to be raised with SS families. Atlantic convoy HXS-300, the largest of the war at 167 ships, arrives safely in the United Kingdom after a 17-day crossing. Soviet forces near Poland cease fighting during the Warsaw uprising, refusing to intervene in aid of the Poles.
4 August 1944	Four American Flying Fortress bombers drop nine tons of high explosives on possible rocket launch sites at Watten, Wizernes, Mimoyecques, and Siracourt. Results are disappointing. General Harry Crerar, commander of the First Canadian Army, reports to the Canadian Military Headquarters in London that there is a severe shortage of infantry reserves. In France, the German 89th Infantry Division arrives at Verriéres Ridge to help defend it.
5 August 1944	In Cowra, Australia, over 900 Japanese prisoners-of-war stage a mass escape. They set their quarters on fire, and rush the barbed wire fences and gun posts. 378 escape, but all are recaptured in following days. In total, 234 are killed, 108 wounded, and four Australian guards are killed. A massive Allied air campaign begins in southern France to knock out local bridges in preparation for a land invasion. In France, US 15th Corps captures Mayenne and Laval.
7 August 1944	In France, German Field Marshal Günther von Kluge launches Operation Luttich, a counterattack by Army Group B at Mortain to attempt the recapture of Avranches. (By noon, his forces have advanced six miles, but Allied aircraft attacks halt tank movement.) The port facilities of the northern French city of Cherbourg, captured on June 27, are operational again. In France, Günther von Kluge directs three panzer divisions to move from the British-Canadian front to attack the flank of the US advance on Le Mans. 1019 British bombers attack five positions in advance of Canadian troops moving toward Falaise. Günther von Kluge cancels move orders for two panther divisions, to oppose the Canadian attack on Falaise. Operation totalize begins, with the Canadian 1st Army staging a breakout from Verriéres toward Falaise. Major-General Guy Simonds launches Canadian 11 Corps in columns of tanks, engineers, anti-tank artillery, and infantry in armored personnel carriers.
8 August 1944	In the English Channel, German submarine U-667 torpedoes Royal Canadian Navy corvette Regina, which sinks within 30 seconds. Outside of Verriéres, France, Canadian tanks break through three lines of German defence, and stop on the edge of open ground, awaiting an upcoming bombing of further areas. Outside of Verriéres, France, German tanks counterattack the Canadian line. In Germany, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bernards is hanged for his part in the Nazi resistance and July 20 coup attempt. In Germany, Lieutenant Albrecht von Hagen is hanged at Plotzensee prison. He had obtained explosives for various assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler from 1942 to 1944. In Germany, Major General Helmuth Stieff is executed. He had obtained and stored explosives for the bomb to kill Hitler. In Germany, Field Marshal Erwin von Witzleben is executed. In Germany, Peter Yorck von Wartenburg is executed, at age 43. He was a lawyer, and participant in coup planning. In Germany, Lieutenant General Paul von Hase is executed. Von Hase had ordered the Berlin garrison to surround buildings during the coup attempt. In Germany, Colonel General Erich Hoepner is executed. He was a member of Nazi resistance since 1938. In Germany, Captain Friedrich Karl Klausing is executed. He was an accomplice of Klaus von Stauffenberg on bomb attempts against Adolf Hitler. In Germany, Count Fritz-Dietlof von der Schulenburg is executed. In Germany, Captain Ulrich Wilhelm Schwerin von Schwanenfeld is executed, at age 42. He was an active member of coup plans, and was to serve in the post-Nazi cabinet. In Germany, Berthold von Stauffenberg is executed. He was brother of Klaus von Stauffenberg. American forces in France capture Le Mans. Bombers of the US 8th Air Force bomb the area of a Canadian/Polish versus German tank battle between Verriéres and Falaise, France. They drop short, hitting many Allied positions. In the Canadian North Shore Regiment near Cormelles, 37 are killed, 78 wounded. Phase 2 of Operation Totalize begins near Caen, France. Canadian and Polish armoured divisions advance. Phase 3 of Operation Totalize begins, with Polish and Canadian tanks attempting to continue the push toward Falaise. The US 8th Division liberates Rennes, France.
9 August 1944	The 4th Canadian Armoured Division begins moving again toward Falaise. The Halpenny Force of tanks is stopped by a line of "88" anti-tank guns at Quesney Woods. The Worthington Force takes the wrong hill objective and is not supported. German Panther and Tiger tanks destroy all Canadian tanks, and kill or wound most of the men. Adolf Hitler orders tanks and anti-tank guns from the Pas de Calais in north-east France to Falaise. American forces liberate St. Malo, on the eastern side of the Brittany peninsula in France. The 1st Polish Armoured Division in Normandy has captured St. Sylvain and St. Martin des Bois, between Caen and Falaise.
10 August 1944	American forces regain Guam from the Japanese. In France, the German 85th Infantry Division arrives in Normandy. American General George Patton, commander of the US 3rd Army in France, orders his 15 Corp north from Le Mans to Argentan. In France, the Canadian 8th Brigade attacks Quesnay Wood, but is not successful and withdraws. Canadian and Polish armored divisions halt their advance.
11 August 1944	Bernard Montgomery orders the First Canadian Army and Second British Army to capture Falaise, then secure Argentan, to capture German armies in the "Falaise Pocket". The United States grants the French Committee of National Liberation status of temporary authority in civil affairs in France.
12 August 1944	Jacques Leclerc's French 2nd Armored Division captures Alençon, France. German Dr. Carl Friedrich Goerdeler is arrested by the Gestapo. He was to serve as Chancellor in a post-Nazi government. In Normandy, Canadian forces capture Clair Tizon and a bridgehead across River Laize, six miles from Falaise.   Slovak leader Jósef Tiso declares martial law, and asks the German army to occupy the country on August 29. 379 British bombers attack Brunswick, Germany. Little damage is done. About 27 planes are shot down. 297 British bombers attack Rüsselsheim, Germany. Little damage is done. About 20 planes are shot down.   The 1st Canadian Army launches a second attack to capture Falaise, France, from German forces.
13 August 1944	The US Army 15 Corps captures Argentan in Normandy.
14 August 1944	In France, 1st Polish Armoured Division captures Potigny, between Caen and Falaise. Operation Tractable begins in France, by Canadian forces. Two columns of armored vehicles advance to River Laison through smoke and dust. In France, the US 3rd Army advances northeast from Argentan. 811 British bombers attack German positions 2000 yards in front of Canadian positions. 77 bombers target the Canadian positions, due to mistaking yellow recognition flares for yellow target indicators. In France, Canadian forces quickly take Sassy, sustaining no casualties. In Canada, authority is given to proceed with anthrax bombing trials at Suffield, Alberta.
15 August 1944	German Hans-Bernd von Haeften (brother of Liietenant Werner von Haeften) is executed, for his role in the anti-Nazi resistance. Adolf Hitler forbids Army Group B from breaking out of the Falaise pocket. In Germany, Wolf Heinrich von Helldorf is executed. He was Berlin Police President, part of conspiracy against Adolf Hitler since 1938. As part of Operation Anvil, American and British gliders take off from Italian airbases, and land in the Argens River Valley, behind German lines. In France, the US 3rd Army stops at Dreux (50 miles west of Paris), Chartres (50 miles southwest of Paris), and Orléans (70 miles south of Paris). The Allies launch Operation Anvil (or Dragoon), as a second Allied invasion force under Lieutenant-General Jacob Devers lands on the Mediterranean coast of France between Cannes and Toulon. 885 ships deliver 151,000 troops (40,000 French, the rest Canadian-American) of the US 3rd Division, 36th Division, 45th Division, French 1st Division, and Canadian-American 1st Special Services Force. General George Patton mistakenly declares the French port city of Brest captured. Canadian escort carrier Nabob joins the British Home Fleet for naval-air operations.
16 August 1944	German panzers attack US 90th Infantry Division guarding Argentan. The defence holds. Field Marshal Günther von Kluge recommends to Alfred Jodl at Hitler's headquarters that German forces trapped in the Falaise pocket be evacuated. Adolf Hitler authorizes a full withdrawal from the Falaise pocket. 461 British Lancaster bombers attack Stettin, Germany, inflicting huge damage. 348 British Lancaster bombers attack Kiel, Germany. (night) The westernmost German units within the Falaise pocket pull back to the Orne River.
17 August 1944	Canadian army forces in France capture Falaise. A pocket of 100,000 German forces is nearly surrounded, with only a gap 40 miles long, 11-15 miles wide. German forces seize the ridge at Le Bourg, to protect retreating Germans from the Falaise pocket. German Field Marshal Walther Model arrives in Normandy to replace Günther von Kluge. German Field Marshal Gunther Hans von Kluge is removed from command, and instructed to return to Berlin. General Bernard Montgomery proposes to General Omar Bradley that 40 divisions advance quickly to Belgium, the Ruhr, and ultimately Berlin. Both Bradley and General Dwight Eisenhower do not favor the idea. In Germany, Lieutenant Fabian von Schlabrendorff is arrested. Canadian General Harry Crerar directs his two armored divisions to take Trun, France. Germans in the Falaise pocket withdraw across the Orne River.
18 August 1944	In the Bay of Biscay, off France, Canadian destroyers Ottawa, Kootenay, and Chaudiere sink German submarine U-621. Over 4,000 French political prisoners are released from prisons in Paris, France, by their German guards, under a deal worked out between Swedish Consul-General Raoul Nordling and German commander of Paris, von Choltitz. In France, the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division captures Trun, southeast of Falaise. 288 British Lancaster bombers attack Bremen, Germany, inflicting great damage. Germans in the Falaise pocket continue their withdrawal.
19 August 1944	The Falaise to Argentan gap in France is loosely closed, trapping about 50,000 German forces. In Paris, France, underground resistance groups launch a revolt against their German captors. In France, the 1st Polish Armoured Division captures Chambois, southeast of Trun. The Battle of Normandy ends, at Chambois-Montormel, France. During the campaign, 200,000 Germen soldiers were killed or wounded; 40 divisions destroyed.
20 August 1944	In the English Channel, Canadian destroyers Ottawa, Kootenay, and Chaudiere sink German submarine U-984. The Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front launches an attack on German Army Group South Ukrain.
21 August 1944	In the English Channel, German submarine U-480 hits Canadian corvette Alberni with an acoustic torpedo, sinking the ship. 59 die, 31 survive. In France, US 20th Corps under Walton Walker captures Melun, Montereau, and Fontainebleau on the upper Seine River. In France, US 12th Corps under Manton Eddy captures Sens and Troyes.
22 August 1944	In Normandy, France, the Falaise Gap is declared officially closed. (About 250,000 to 500,000 trapped Germans were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner.) Off the Norwegian coast, German submarine U-354 hits Canadian-built British-run escort carrier HMS Nabob with an acoustic torpedo. The ship, with a 32 square foot hole below the water line, makes it back to Scapa Flow base in Great Britain by August 27, but does not return to active service. Adolf Hitler issues a directive to the German commander of Paris, France, to destroy the city.
23 August 1944	Romania is liberated King Michael unconditionally surrenders to the Allies.
24 August 1944	The first few tanks of Allied forces arrive in Paris. American aircraft drop almost 300 tons of bombs on a factory near Weimar, believed to be making rocket parts. Adolf Hitler orders a new West Wall built to defend the German homeland.
25 August 1944	In Italy, the Canadian 1st Infantry Division begins its attack on the Gothic Line, running across Italy roughly between Pisa and Resaro. Jacques Leclerc's French 2nd Armored Division enters Paris, France. German commander of Paris, France, Von Choltitz surrenders the city to Allied armies. Finland requests an armistice with the Soviet Union. French General Charles de Gaulle enters liberated Paris. 328 British bombers successfully attack eight gun batteries near Brest, France. At the Metauro River in Italy, British, Canadian, and Polish artillery begin a bombardment across the river in advance of a Canadian crossing.
26 August 1944	In Italy, the 1st Canadian Division crosses the Metauro River. Two Canadian brigades secure a bridgehead over the Metauro River, Italy. Romania declares war on Germany. The German garrison at Toulon, France, surrenders to the French. British Dr. R.V. Jones issues a report on German rockets. The report gives estimates close to actual German figures: range 200-210 km (German: 207), current stockpile 2000 (actual 1800), monthly production about 500 (actual average 618), intended monthly rate of fire about 800 (German target 900).
27 August 1944	British Bomber Command launches a Halifax bomber attack against synthetic oil targets in Hamburg, Germany. No bombers are shot down. (This is the first major British daylight raid on Germany in three years.) Soviet partisans seize a German military mission returning from Romania, killing them all. The German garrison at Marseille, France, surrenders to the French. In Italy, the Canadian 1st Infantry Division breaks through the Red Line of German positions along the Arzilla River. 378 British Lancaster bombers attack Kiel, Germany, inflicting great damage.
28  August 1944	In Paris, France, Charles de Gaulle orders the Free French I and all other Resistance organizations to disband. Four Waffen Sturz Staffel German divisions are sent into Slovakia, under command of SS General Gottlieb Berger.
29 August 1944	The Slovak army of 60,000 mutinies against the government.
30 August 1944	In Italy, Canadian forces cross the Foglia River, and pierce the Gothic Line of German defences. Former Paris Military Governor Colonel-General Karl Heinrich von Stülpnagel is hanged. Colonel Hans Otfreid von Linstow is executed. In France, Canadian forces enter Rouen. Russian forces capture Ploesti, Romania. Canadian General Harry Crerar directs the 2nd Canadian Corps to take Dieppe, France.
31 August 1944	In France, British 30th Corps reaches Amiens, breaching the Somme line. Parts of the US 3rd Army cross the Meuse River at Verdun. British intelligence finally discovers the location of German rocket manufacture: Nordhausen. Colonel Eberhard Finckh is hanged for his part in the coup attempt. Canada ceases production of anthrax for Britain at Grosse Ile, Quebec. The American operation takes over production at their plant for Britain. In Italy, Canadian 2nd Infantry Brigade breaks through the Gothic Line, and approaches Pozzo Alto.