• Serial
  • June 1944
  • July 1944
  • August 1944
  • September 1944
  • October 1944
  • November 1944
  • December 1944
  • January 1945
  • February 1945
  • March 1945
  • April 1945
  • May 1945

From D-Day to V-Day

September 1944

September 30, 1944 - D-Day + 116

It was September 30, 1944, the last day of the month in which Monty attempted to take advantage of the bridges in the northeast of the Netherlands to enter German territory. The legendary Operation Market Garden ended in fiasco. Despite the fact that a certain amount of territory was gained, the operation brought death and suffering to thousands of British, Polish and American paratroopers as well as hundreds of infantrymen and pilots. There was also heavy fighting on the Siegfried Line, which the Allies managed to break at several points. The effort to invade the German Reich and end the war and the horrors it brought as quickly as possible cost the American units alone nearly 10,500 dead and 31,700 injured GIs in the course of September 1944.

The Polish 1st Armored Division from the British I Corps occupied Merxplas, located northwest of Turnhout. In the course of the day, the British Second Army’s VIII Corps took up positions on the Weert – Meijel – Deurne – Boxmeer line.

Tanks from the 7th Armored Division of the US First Army’s XIX Corps launched an afternoon attack from positions near Oploo to the south through the corridor west of the Meuse River, but its advance was soon slowed by tough enemy defenses. Tanks from the 2nd Armored Division supported the 29th Infantry Division’s 115th Infantry Regiment in the Gangelt – Teveren sector.

Following a successful mission south of Xanrey, units from the US XII Corps’ 4th Armored Division took up of defense positions. In a desperate attempt to retake the Forét de Grémecey, the Germans launched a fierce pre-dawn attack against both flanks of the 35th Infantry Division with artillery and machine gun support. Within the forest they were able to penetrate through the positions of the 35th Infantry Division’s 134th and 137th Infantry Regiments. The situation was so serious that at 1420 hours, Major General Manton S. Eddy, the commander of the US XII Corps, ordered the 35th Infantry Division to retreat behind the Seille River after sunset. General Patton was of a different opinion, however; he ordered units from the 6th Armored Division to launch a counterattack and renew the positions. The 35th Infantry Division sent out reserve units and two battalions from the 320th Infantry Regiment, and was then able to hold the enemy. The Germans started to withdraw but blew up the trees behind them, causing the trees to fall and making it impossible for the tanks from the 737th Tank Battalion to move forward. The 133rd Engineer Battalion was quickly called in to remove the trees. The commander of the 320th Infantry Regiment’s 1st Battalion, Major W. G. Gillis, was killed in the fighting that day.

In the course of September 30, 1944, the US XV Corps’ 79th Infantry Division continued to fight the strong defense in the Forét de Parroy. Part of the French 2nd Armored Division, assisted by the infantry from the US VI Corps’ 45th Infantry Division, launched an offensive on Rambervillers.

On this last day of September, Czechoslovak-piloted fighter aircraft were involved in two Ramrod missions. In the first, Ramrod operation 1302, men from the No. 310 and 312 Squadrons RAF escorted 100 four-engine Halifaxes and 15 Lancasters over the oil refineries in the German city of Bottrop. This was the same target both squadrons flew over three days earlier. The second Ramrod operation (1304) brought the Czechoslovak fighter aircraft over Goch, Germany, where a formation of 24 two-engine B-25 Mitchell aircraft attempted to lead an assault.