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From D-Day to V-Day

September 1944

September 9, 1944 - D-Day + 95

Reconnaissance patrols from the II Canadian Corps that were sent out along the coast entered Ostend and Nieuport, while the 4th Canadian Armored Division crossed the Ghent – Bruges Canal southeast of Brug despite strong enemy resistance.

The British Guards Armoured Division from the XXX Corps, with reinforcements from the Royal Netherlands Group, expanded the bridgehead in Beeringen after a fierce battle. The British 50th Infantry Division slowly expanded the bridgehead in Gheel, while the 11th Armoured Division advanced on the corps’ right flank.

The 113th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) from the US XIX Corps entered the Netherland not far from Maastricht, while the remainder of the corps stayed in their positions ready to attack. Units from the 30th Infantry Division gathered together near Tongres. The US VII Corps’ “Big Red One” Division crossed the Meusse River in Liège and advanced eastwards on the corps’ northern flank. In the meantime, the 3rd Armored Division headed towards Verviers. Tanks from Combat Command B and assigned units from the 9th Infantry Division penetrated through to Limbourg.

Detachments from the US XX Corps’ 90th Infantry Division advanced to the northeast and reached the vicinity of Fontoy and Neufchef. Later on, they were just six miles from Thionville. The 5th Infantry Division’s 2nd Infantry Regiment, supported by a tactical tank group from the 7th Armored Division’s Combat Command A, continued to attack west of Metz – but with no noticeable success. The 5th Infantry Division maintained its small bridgehead near Dornot. The bridgehead was exposed to the enemy’s unwavering pressure, but the division was unable to expand and reinforce the bridgehead. The commanders of the US XII Corps issued an order that the 11th Infantry Regiment lead an attack to be carried out on the southern flank. The Germans continued with their counterattacks on the 80th Infantry Division’s positions, while the 35th Infantry Division moved to the line where it would soon launch an attack planned for September 11, 1944. The 2nd Cavalry Group (Mechanized) advanced along the Madon River in the effort to occupy bridges over the Mosel River between Gripport and Flavigny, where the 35th Infantry was to cross the river.

The French II Corps from the Seventh Army in the south of France continued to advance towards Dijon. Assault units from the 45th Infantry Division overcame the defenses in Baume, allowing them to advance to the highway crossroads in the direction of Villersexel. In the meantime, units from the 3rd and 36th Infantry Divisions crossed the Ognon River. French resistance (FFI) units operating in the French I Corps zone occupied Séez, an important communications junction located southwest of the St Bernard pass.

On September 9, 1944, Spitfire fighter aircraft from the No. 310 and 312 Squadrons RAF participated in Operation Ramrod number 1267, in which the Allies attempted to find out where the V-2 rocket bases had been deployed in the area between Hook and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The V-2s represented a serious threat – and there were practically no defenses against it. If the rocket could not be destroyed on the ground, once launched it was practically indestructible. On the previous day, the first V-2 rockets hit London. Hitler’s “vengeance weapons” would hit Great Britain countless more times before the end of the war. Three Liberators from the No. 311 Squadron RAF were also in the sky that day.

In addition to British Cromwells, the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade (CIAB) also had American “Firefly” Sherman tank models IC and IC Hybrid. The Shermans served in the tank battalions and the brigade’s staff companies. The tanks were made in the United States as Sherman model M4 tanks. In Great Britain, the tanks were equipped with British seventeen-pound anti-tank cannons (76.2 mm). The Czechoslovak tank crews did not arrive in Czechoslovakia in these tanks, though, because in early May the Shermans were replaced with huge British Challenger Mk I model tanks. Unlike the Cromwell tanks, the CIAB tank battalions had just a small number of Shermans.