Dear Ruth reminds him of 4 other plays
Nevertheless, it is very funny, so Jack Gaver gives it his approval
By Jack Gaver, United Press drama editor
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A film star is born, and here’s how!
Lanky, Pouty, Lauren Bacall is good example of the procedure
By Maxine Garrison
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1944, a year of violence
January
January 1:
- Year begins with Eisenhower in England as commander of Allied invasion forces as gigantic air raids pound Hitler’s Europe.
- Allies in Pacific fighting on newly-invaded Gilberts and New Britain.
- Allied troops in Italy approaching Mount Cassino in drive toward Rome.
- Soviets poised on Polish border.
- U.S. Congress debating soldier vote law.
- 3,000,000 U.S. fighting men overseas.
- U.S. shipbuilding at rate of 25,000,000 tons a year.
- U.S. plane production at rate of 9,000 planes a month.
- U.S. war casualties total 139,752.
January 4: Soviets cross Polish border.
January 13: Allied planes bomb Bangkok.
January 18: Fourth War Loan opens with $14 billion quota.
January 19: 100,000 planes set for year’s production goal.
January 20: Russians retake Novgorod.
January 22: Allies land at Anzio.
January 27: Leningrad breaks Nazi siege; Liberia declares war on Axis.
January 29:
- USS Missouri, most powerful warship, launched.
- William Allen White dies.
January 30: Army releases 70 colleges from air force training.
January 31: Allies land on Roi and Kwajalein in Marshall, Jap territory.
February
February 4: U.S. warships shell Paramushiru.
February 8: Russians clear last Germans from Dnieper east bank.
February 9: Senate rejects food subsidy plan.
February 14: Nation’s farm income for 1943 rose to $19,009,000,000.
February 15: Allies bomb German-fortified Mount Cassino abbey.
February 16:
- Allied fleet attacks Truk, downing 16 ships and 201 planes.
- Roosevelt puts War Relocation Authority under Ickes.
February 22: President vetoes tax bill.
February 24:
- MacArthur announces Allied control of Bismarck Archipelago.
- House overrides tax veto.
February 25:
- Senate overrides tax veto.
- Senator Charles L. McNary dies.
February 27: Announce ship loss slashed to 1% on way to Russia.
February 29: Yanks land on Admiralty Island.
March
March 8: 2,000 U.S. planes attack Berlin in greatest daylight raid.
March 12: U.S. paratroops drop behind Jap lines in Burma to hold Ledo Road.
March 13: Russians take Kherson.
March 15: Congress adopts states’ rights soldier vote bill.
March 17: G.I. “Bill of Rights” voted by Senate group.
March 18: War chiefs agree to defer 40,000 key men under 26.
March 19:
- Russians cross Dniester River.
- Allied troops in Italy see Vesuvius in its most violent eruption in 38 years.
March 27: Supreme Court upholds constitutionality of price control, portal pay for miners.
March 29: U.S. participation in UNRRA authorized.
March 30: Russians enter Romania.
March 31: Wayne Lonergan judged guilty of second-degree murder of his wife.
April
April 5: Willkie leaves presidential race after defeat in Wisconsin primaries.
April 10: Russians win Odessa.
April 16: Tornado kills 40, injures 500 in Georgia, South Carolina.
April 17: Sedition trial of 30 opens.
April 18: House group drafts proposal to draft 4-Fs for war jobs.
April 19:
- Tommy Hitchcock killed in plane crash in England.
- House extends Lend-Lease Act for a year.
April 20: Allied carrier force attacks Sumatra.
April 22: Yanks land in northern New Guinea.
April 26: U.S. troops seize Ward’s after Avery defies Roosevelt order.
April 28: Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox dies.
May
May 2: U.S. ships sink 17 Jap ships, down 126 planes off Truk.
May 3: Synthetic quinine is produced, ending century search.
May 5: Tax simplification bill voted by House.
May 8:
- Russians win Sevastopol.
- Senate voted Lend-Lease year’s extension.
May 10: Public debt increase from $210 billion to $240 billion voted by House.
May 18:
- Allies take Cassino
- Yanks take Wadke Island.
May 19: James V. Forrestal takes oath as Secretary of the Navy.
May 20: Senate passes tax simplification bill.
May 22: Suspension power of OPA is upheld by Supreme Court.
May 27: Yanks invade Biak Island, in the Schoutens.
June
June 2:
- U.S. bombers land in Russia, in first “shuttle” raid.
- Nazis announce six American fliers lynched by German mob.
June 4: Rome falls to Allies.
June 6: ALLIES INVADE EUROPE.
June 12: Fifth War Loan opens, with goal of $16 billion.
June 13: House passes compromise version of “G.I. Bill of Rights.”
June 14: Yanks land on Saipan.
June 15:
- First B-29 raid on Japan.
- Nazis launch robot bombs on England.
June 19:
- U.S. Task Force 58 defeats Jap fleet between Marianas and Philippines.
- Allies occupy Elba.
- Ralph A. Bard becomes Under Secretary of the Navy.
June 22: President signs “G.I. Bill of Rights.”
June 26: Reds take Vitebsk, Zlobin.
June 27: Allies take Cherbourg.
June 28: Republicans nominate Dewey, Bricker.
June 30: AAF terminates aircrew-training programs in 81 colleges.
July
July 1: World monetary conference opens.
July 3:
- Russians retake Minsk.
- U.S. women Marines reach 19,000 quota.
July 6:
- Circus fire in Hartford, Connecticut, cost 146 lives.
- 66 miners die in Ohio pit fire.
July 8: Caen, Saipan fall to Allies.
July 11: Roosevelt announces fourth-term candidacy.**
July 16: Russian take Grodno.
July 18:
- Allies take Saint-Lô, Leghorn.
- 350 die in West Coast munitions ship’s explosion.
July 19: Allies take Livorno.
July 20:
- YANKS LAND ON GUAM.
- Tojo cabinet ousted.
- Hitler escapes bomb, “purges” German Army.
July 21: Truman named Democratic vice-presidential candidate.
July 22: 44 nations approve fund, bank pacts as world monetary parley ends.
July 23:
- Soviets open summer offensive, take Pskov.
- Allies land on Tinian Island.
July 24:
- Soviets take Lublin.
- Basil O’Connor new Red Cross head.
July 26-29: Roosevelt, MacArthur, Nimitz confer in Hawaii.
July 28: Soviets take Brest-Litovsk.
July 29:
- Allies take Coutances.
- B-29s bomb Jap industries in Manchuria.
- Soviets take Kaunas.
July 30: Allies invade Sansapor, 600 miles from the Philippines.
July 31: Allies begin aerial blitz on Nazi supply routes and transport lines in France and Germany.
August
August 1:
- Allies capture: Brécey, France – Pisa, Italy.
- Philippine President Quezon dies.
August 2: Turkey breaks with Germany.
August 4: Allies take: Rennes, France – Florence, Italy – Myitkyina, Burma.
August 6:
- Soviets take Drohobycz, Poland.
- U.S., Britain agree on international oil body.
August 6-8: B-29s hit Davao, in the first attack on the Philippines since Corregidor.
August 8:
- Soviets take Krustpils, Latvia.
- Japs take Hengyang.
August 10:
- Allies take Guam.
- B-29s bomb Nagasaki, Japan.
- B-29s destroy huge refinery on Sumatra.
August 15:
- Allies land in southern France.
- WPB releases hundreds of articles for civilian output.
August 17:
- Allies take Orleans, Saint-Malo.
- Soviets reach East Prussia.
August 21: U.S., Britain, Russia open peace talks at Dumbarton Oaks.
August 22:
- Soviets take Iasi, Romania.
- House votes war property surplus bill.
August 23:
- Allies invade southern France near Bordeaux.
- Allies take Grenoble, Marseilles.
- Romania breaks with Axis.
August 24: Allies take Bordeaux.
August 25:
- Allies take Paris, Cannes, Lyon.
- Nazis flee robot bomb coast.
- Bulgaria surrenders to Allies.
- Romania declares war on Germany.
- Senate votes war surplus property bill.
August 27: Allies take Toulon.
August 28:
- Allies take Château-Thierry.
- Soviets drive into Transylvania.
August 30: Soviets take Ploesti oil fields.
September
September 1:
- Allies take Verdun, Argonne.
- Soviets take Bucharest.
- Bodies of 51 beheaded by Japs on Guam are found.
September 2:
- Allies race through Alsace-Lorraine, cross Belgian frontier, take Compiègne Forest, Dieppe, Abbeville, Saint-Mihiel.
- Allies in Italy break Gothic Line.
September 4:
- Allies take Antwerp, Brussels.
- Finns, Russians cease fight.
- Dumbarton Oaks parley backs international use of force to keep peace.
September 5:
- Russia declares war on Bulgaria.
- Allies enter Luxembourg, Holland.
September 6:
- Bulgaria, Russian sign armistice.
- Soviets take Ostroleka, Poland.
September 7:
- Soviets cross Danube into Yugoslavia.
- Allies take Ghent, Armentières.
- Bulgaria declares war on Germany.
September 8:
- Soviets drive through Bulgaria to Greek frontier.
- Allies take Liège, Metz.
- Soviets take Varna.
September 9-12: Huge Allied task force shells Mindanao, the Philippines.
September 10: Allies shell German soil, take Luxembourg.
September 11:
- ALLIES ENTER GERMANY.
- Soviets take Krosno.
- Roosevelt, Churchill in Quebec for 10th meeting.
- Allies land on Halmahera Island and Palau.
September 17:
- Allied airborne troops land behind German lines in Holland.
- Hull pledges support to international news freedom.
September 19:
- Allies take Eindhoven, Holland.
- Soviets take Valga.
September 20: Allies take Boulogne, Brest.
September 20-21: U.S. Third Fleet smashes 103 Jap ships, 405 planes, in Manila assault.
September 22:
- Allies take Rimini, Italy, sweep into Po Valley.
- Allies enter Arnhem, Holland.
- Soviets take Tallinn, cross Vistula.
September 24: Survey shows 6,500,000 women took jobs since Pearl Harbor.
September 25:
- Soviets enter Hungary, Slovakia.
- Allies win Gothic Line.
September 27: Allies invade Albania, islands of Yugoslavia.
September 29: China enters Dumbarton Oaks talks as Russian phase ends.
October
October 1: Allies take Calais.
October 2: Allies start offensive drive through Siegfried Line.
October 3:
- Polish patriots give up battle inside Warsaw.
- Germans abandon southern Greece.
October 4:
- Soviets join Partisans in Yugoslavia.
- World Series opens in St. Louis.
- Al Smith dies.
October 7: Japs take Foochow.
October 8:
- U.S. fleet shells Marcus Island.
- Wendell Willkie dies.
October 9: St. Louis Cardinals win World Series.
October 10:
- Allies take Corinth.
- U.S. fleet shells Ryukyu Island.
October 12-13: Allied carrier force strikes Formosa.
October 13:
- Greeks liberate Athens, Piraeus.
- Soviets take Riga.
October 14: New “super-fuel” is developed for carrier-based planes.
October 15:
- Soviets take Petsamo.
- Rommel’s death announced.
October 18: Soviets drive into Czechoslovakia.
October 19:
- MACARTHUR LANDS IN THE PHILIPPINES.
- Soviets drive into East Prussia.
October 20:
- Allies take Aachen.
- Soviets take Belgrade.
- 200 die in Cleveland gas tank explosion.
- British Eighth Army takes Cesena.
October 22-27: Allies sink 24 Jap ships, damage 33, down 150 Jap planes in air-sea battle off the Philippines.
October 25: Soviets drive into Norway.
October 28:
- Bulgaria signs armistice.
- Stilwell relieved of command.
- Allies in the Philippines take Samar.
November
November 2:
- Luftwaffe loses 288 planes in air battle over Merseburg.
- Allies take Vossenack, Germeter.
November 4: Last German forces driven from Greece.
November 4-5: Allies destroy 440 Jap planes, sink or damage 30 Jap ships in Manila-Southern Luzon area.
November 5: B-29s raid Singapore.
November 7:
- Roosevelt, Truman elected. Democrats gain in Senate and House.
- Employees’ right to uniform vacation basis upheld by WLB.
November 9: U.S. battle casualties pass 500,000 mark.
November 11: Allies sink Jap convoy of 8,000 troops.
November 12:
- Allies sink Nazi battleship Tirpitz.
- Sixth War Loan drive opens with $14 billion goal.
November 15: Allies land on Mapia Island, above New Guinea.
November 16: Byrnes named Reconversion Director.
November 17: Lt. Gen. Raymond A. Wheeler succeeds Gen. Stilwell as deputy commander in Southeast Asia.
November 19: Allies enter Saar Basin.
November 20:
- Allies cross Rhine, pierce Maginot forts.
- Allies take Metz, Belfort.
November 21: President names Nelson “personal representative” to China.
November 22: Allies drive to Roer River.
November 24: B-29s attack Tokyo for the first time.
November 27: Stettinius named Secretary of State as Hull resigns.
December
December 2: Allies take Antwerp.
December 5:
- Stettinius criticizes British policy in Italy and other liberated countries.
- Allies take Ravenna, Italy.
December 7: Mass sedition trial ends in mistrial after the death of Judge Eicher.
December 10: Allies take Ormoc.
December 11: Allies seize Sarreguemines, Haguenau.
December 12: Cold wave grips nation.
December 14: U.S. casualties for World War II rise to 562,468.
December 15: Seventh Army invades Reich. Patch’s troops cross border from Alsace.
December 16:
- MacArthur’s forces invade Mindoro Island, 130 miles from Manila.
- NAZIS OPEN COUNTEROFFENSIVE along 70-mile front, drive into Belgium and Luxembourg.
December 20:
- German sweep continues.
- Churchill admits Big Three discord in liberated Europe.
December 26:
- Churchill, in Athens to settle civil war, escapes death plot.
- Germans smash 11 miles with renewed force, threaten Meuse line.
December 27:
- B-29s hammer Tokyo in fifth big-scale raid.
- Yanks halt Meuse drive.
December 28: Army seizes Montgomery Ward & Company stores in seven cities.
December 30: Germans thrown back by Gen. Patton’s Third Army.
Author analyzes Japan’s post-war position
Willis Lamont taught natives – Limitations may hinder peace plans
…
Bowl games launch new sports year
Tulsa vs. Tech shapes hottest of six holiday grid battles carded
…
WACs provide color –
Bowl contagion grips G.I.’s in tests near battlefronts
…
‘DiMag’s’ heart set on return to game
…
Coddle city editors –
Williams: Fearing 1945 blackout, sports writers lower their scholarly noses
By Joe Williams
…
U.S. Navy Department (December 31, 1944)
CINCPAC Press Release No. 707
For Immediate Release
December 31, 1944
The naval war in the Pacific during 1944
(Distances are in nautical miles)
The year 1944 saw a great amphibious offensive unfold in the Pacific. The forces of the United Nations, spearheaded and sustained by the United States Pacific Fleet, drove in massive lunges through Japan’s ill-gotten conquests, moving 1,830 miles westward from Tarawa and Makin to anchor their armed might securely in the Marianas. From there, systematic bombarding of Tokyo and other Japanese industrial centers has begun.
From the jungles of New Britain, the front was pushed 1,600 miles north and west to the Philippines. As of today, the enemy’s defensive arc from Paramushiru in the northern Kurils to Manila, 2,780 miles in extent, is within effective range of our fleet and shore-based aircraft. To U.S. offensive forces in the Marianas and Philippines, as elsewhere in the Pacific, a constant procession of cargo vessels is carrying thousands of tons of supplies. These two points are 4,938 miles and 6,056 miles, respectively, from San Francisco. No military operation has ever embraced such dimensions.
There is evidence that the enemy counted on slow and painful forward steps by our forces, instead of swift advances. Radio Tokyo told its listeners recently that speed is an “outstanding trait” of the American people. “The enemy has come pressing upon us,” Tokyo explained, “skipping three or four steps in one jump, for the step‑by‑step method was not speedy enough for him.”
In seizing positions in the pivotal Philippines, a strategic victory has been consummated. A string of island bases along the southern perimeter of Japan’s inner sea has been established. From them can be launched drives against the home Empire. At the same time, Japan is being cut off from the rich military resources of the Indies – the empire she coveted, won and planned to exploit without hindrance.
Japan’s leaders are well aware of the strategic import of the battle of the Philippines. It is a battle which, according to their own propaganda, they know they must not lose. This was indicated when the Japanese Imperial Fleet, long in hiding, steamed forth in a supreme effort to destroy the forces covering the beachhead won on Leyte. The U.S. Navy then came to grips with, and thoroughly defeated, a major force of the Japanese Navy in the three actions of Surigao Straits, Samar and of Cape Engano.
These three actions constituted the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea, the culminating sea engagement of the year, which was symbolic of the destruction wrought upon the Japanese military machine throughout the Pacific.
During the year, U.S. surface ships and aircraft sank two of the enemy’s battleships, five of his aircraft carriers, seven of his heavy cruisers, well over 300 cargo ships and transports, and about 200 other vessels, with the grand total reaching 550 ships, according to tentative figures now available. These figures do not include any ships probably sunk or damaged, or any ships destroyed by our submarines. They do not include any of the hundreds of barges, luggers and other small cargo craft sunk. And they refer only to activity in the Pacific Ocean Areas exclusive of the Southwest Pacific Command.
U.S. submarines sank 468 Japanese ships during the first 11 months of 1944, according to Navy Department communiqués. This total includes four light cruisers and 17 destroyers. Forty‑three tankers, 377 cargo ships and transports were sent to the bottom. In December, an enemy aircraft carrier was sunk by a submarine. The tonnage of Japanese ships sunk during 1944 by U.S. submarines alone is in excess of 2,500,000 tons. The number of ships damaged by submarines has not been announced.
During 1944, 6,650 enemy aircraft were destroyed in the Pacific Ocean Areas. Of these approximately 5,450 were destroyed by carrier aircraft, and 1,200 by land‑based airplanes. Of the year’s total, approximately 3,975 enemy aircraft were destroyed in the air, and 2,675 on the ground. These figures also do not include reports from the Southwest Pacific command.
No review of the year would be complete without mention of our land-based air forces. As we have moved the battlefront steadily across the Pacific, we have drawn after us a net of air and surface blockade, entangling, pinning down, choking the bypassed Japanese holdings. An estimated 225,000 enemy troops, and strong enemy bastions such as Truk, Kavieng and Rabaul, have been reduced to impotence or to ashes.
In addition to ceaseless patrolling by surface units, many hundreds of land‑based air strikes have been necessary to enforce this blockade. Many of these strikes were in force, with heavy bombloads dropped on important targets. Others were small. When practicable, they were closely coordinated with carrier‑based attacks and amphibious landings. Together with our surface patrolling, these airstrikes destroyed enemy strength in bypassed zones and made possible our rapid advance.
The year 1944 has brought success and added momentum to our advancing forces. But the Pacific is an ocean of fantastic distances. The road to Tokyo is rough and long. The enemy has just begun to defend his Home Empire. We have just begun to meet the tremendous problems of logistics, of supplying our forces – problems that grow greater with every forward step.
The vast quantity of material required to prepare the way for our advancing troops can be measured in terms of ammunition. Our naval forces alone used 36,260 tons of it in the Marianas campaign for air and surface bombardment. This does not include any ammunition used by troops ashore. At Peleliu, surface and air bombardment consumed 9,000 tons. A myriad of other commodities are required to supply and sustain our advancing forces.
The decisive battles, the greatest battles, the hardest battles of the war in the Pacific are still to come. They must be fought with supreme effort on the part of all of us; in factories throughout our country, across the long sea lanes, and in the forward areas where the men of all our armed services, and those of our Allies, are fighting – for the enemy, like ourselves, has just begun to fight.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC FOR THE YEAR 1944
(All dates are West Longitude)
For the months January to July (inclusive), revised figures are used in showing our own and enemy losses. By “revised” is meant the figures arrived at as result of assembling, analyzing and tabulating all the final returns – a process which takes many weeks after the action concerned. These revised figures often differ, to a minor degree, from the figures originally announced in communiqués.
For the months August to December (inclusive), revised figures are not available; that is, the figures used in this portion of the chronology are drawn entirely and only from communiqués issued in that period.
The purpose of this chronology is primarily to list events occurring in the Pacific Ocean Areas. However, the campaigns of the Southwest Pacific Area are strategically speaking, an inseparable part of the Pacific offensive, and repeatedly during the year the activities of the two commands had a direct and important tactical relationship. For these reasons, the major events occurring in the Southwest Pacific Area are included in this chronology.
January 1944
All dates are West Longitude
31 December 1943 and 3 January 1944
A carrier force commanded by RADM F. C. Sherman, USN, made bombing, strafing and torpedo attacks on enemy cruisers, destroyers and other shipping near Kavieng, New Ireland.
1 January
Under cover of heavy air and naval bombardment, elements of the 6th Army under Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Allied Forces, Southwest Pacific Area (SACSWPA), landed at Saidor on the north coast of New Guinea. The landings were unopposed and control of the Saidor area and airstrip was soon gained.
3‑25 January
Enemy troop and supply concentrations and staging points in the northern Solomons were subjected to six surface bombardments. Four were in broad daylight. There was no air or surface opposition, and negligible reply from shore batteries. Two strikes on Southern Empress Augusta Bay, two on northeastern Bougainville and one on Choiseul Bay were conducted by destroyers. One on the Shortland area was by cruisers and destroyers.
29‑30 January
During the night, the USS BURNS (DD-588), a destroyer operating with our naval forces in the Marshall Islands, encountered and sank an enemy convoy of four vessels including a 6,000‑ton oiler, a 4,500‑ton cargo ship and two smaller vessels.
U.S. carrier and heavy surface forces heavily attacked Jap bases in the Marshall Islands. Airfields and other installations on Wotje, Maloelap and Kwajalein atolls, previously softened up by our land‑based airpower, were bombed and strafed by our carrier aircraft and bombarded by our battleships, cruisers and destroyers. The enemy’s air strength in the Marshalls was paralyzed. On the 30th, our carrier forces began air attacks on Eniwetok Atoll which continued daily until 6 February.
31 January
U.S. landings began in the Marshall Islands with unopposed occupation of Majuro Atoll by Amphibious Reconnaissance Company of 5th Amphibious Corps (now Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion of Fleet Marine Force, Pacific). Majuro was the first pre‑war Japanese territory to be taken by United States forces.
In preparation for main assault on Roi and Namur Islands in Kwajalein Atoll, Marines landed on five smaller islets flanking Roi, meeting with little opposition. In preparation for assault on Kwajalein Island at the southern tip of the atoll, by the 7th Infantry Division, U.S. Army troops landed on islands flanking Kwajalein Island. Opposition was slight.
February 1944
1 February
4th Marine Division landed on Roi and Namur Islands, about 45 miles north of Kwajalein Island, in Kwajalein Atoll. 7th Infantry Division landed on Kwajalein Island.
1‑6 February
Powerful force of battleships, cruisers, destroyers, carriers and land‑based aircraft supported Kwajalein landings. Fleet air attacks were carried out also on other atolls of the Marshalls and on Wake Island. Roi. Namur, Kwajalein, Ebeye, Lot, Gugegwe, Bigej and Eller Islands, all in Kwajalein Atoll, were captured. (Kwajalein is the world’s largest atoll, 66 miles long, 18 miles wide and including more than 30 islets.)
4 February
Cruisers and destroyers commanded by RADM W. D. Baker, USN, bombarded Japanese installations on Paramushiru in the Kuril Islands – the first surface bombardment of this Japanese base by our forces.
8 February
Organized resistance ceased on Kwajalein Atoll. Japanese killed 8,112, prisoners 437. Our casualties: 286 killed, 1,148 wounded, 82 missing.
10‑12 February
Eniwetok bombarded by our carrier aircraft.
12 February
Arno Atoll, Marshall Islands occupied. No opposition.
14 February
First heavy land‑based air attack on Ponape, base in the Carolines. U.S. and New Zealand troops under Gen. MacArthur landed on Green Islands off southern New Ireland. Naval attack force was commanded by RADM T. S. Wilkinson, USN. Resistance was light. This thrust flanked Rabaul.
16‑17 February
Enemy positions and installations on Eniwetok Atoll were bombed and strafed by carrier aircraft and shelled by heavy surface units.
Covering the Eniwetok landings, a U.S. carrier and battleship force struck a heavy surprise blow at Truk. On the 16th, our aircraft strafed and bombed airfields and enemy aircraft; and strafed, bombed and torpedoed shipping in Truk lagoon. Enemy airpower was paralyzed: 129 enemy aircraft were shot down, 82 were destroyed on the ground, 70 were damaged on the ground according to photographic evidence. (No Jap aircraft were airborne the second day of the attack.) Meantime, a force including battleships and cruisers made sweep around the atoll attacking Japanese merchant and naval vessels in the vicinity of Truk. There were few targets left by the 17th, and on that day our force retired. Sunk by our air and surface action were 2 light cruisers, 3 destroyers, 2 patrol craft, 1 ammunition ship, 8 freighters, 7 oilers, 2 barges. Damaged were 16 other vessels (only 14 out of a total of 55 vessels at Truk escaped undamaged). This anti‑shipping assault was the heaviest yet delivered by our fleet air arm in terms of bomb tonnage, sorties flown, and targets available. Our losses: 25 aircraft lost, 1 ship moderately damaged.
17 February
Eniwetok landings began with establishment of artillery positions on islands flanking Engebi Island.
18 February
22nd Marines and 106th Infantry seized Engebi Island. Opposition was light.
19‑21 February
Eniwetok Island was invaded and seized by the 106th Infantry Regiment and the 104th Artillery Battalion.
22-23 February
Parry Island, Eniwetok Atoll, was invaded and seized by the 22nd Marines and the 4th Tank Battalion. This completed our control of Eniwetok Atoll. Japanese killed, 2,665; prisoners, 66. Our casualties: 169 killed, 521 wounded, 26 missing.
17‑29 February
U.S. destroyers bombarded Kavieng, New Ireland and Rabaul, New Britain and conducted anti‑shipping sweeps in the Bismarck area. These were our first surface bombardment of these enemy bases. There was no air nor surface opposition and only slight resistance from shore batteries.
19 February
On or about this date, the Japs evacuated their air force from Rabaul and virtually stopped defending the Bismarck with aircraft. Interception of our aircraft over Rabaul virtually ceased after 19 February.
20 February
Aircraft from our carriers strafed and bombed enemy installations on Jaluit atoll, Marshall Islands.
21‑22 February
A carrier force under command of Rear (now Vice) ADM Marc A. Mitscher, USN, bombed and strafed enemy installations on Saipan, Tinian, Rota and Guam in the Marianas. Air battles were fought with enemy aircraft. Virtually all of the enemy’s aircraft in the Marianas were destroyed or damaged (total about 135). Of the few enemy ships located, 2 were destroyed and 9 damaged. Our losses were 6 aircraft.
28 February
Troops under Gen. MacArthur landed at Los Negros, in the Admiralty Islands, from a Naval force commanded by RADM W. M. Fechteler, USN. This advance into the Admiralties was the first step toward development of strategic airfields and a major fleet anchorage in these islands. It further flanked Rabaul. Resistance was light and the Momote Airstrip was quickly seized.
March 1944
4 March
Mindiri, 30 miles west of Saidor on New Guinea coast, was invaded by troops under Gen. MacArthur.
7 March
Jap ground forces attacked our positions in Tororina area on Bougainville. Fighting continued until 23 March when the Japs abandoned their effort and retired.
Troops under SACSWPA landed on Willaumez Peninsula, near Talasea, on northern coast of New Britain, 160 miles from Rabaul. Opposition was quickly overcome.
9 March
Wotho Atoll, Marshall Islands, was secured.
11 March
Ujae Atoll and Lib Island, in the Marshall Islands were secured.
13 March
Lae atoll, Marshall Islands, was secured.
14 March
Manus Island, Admiralty group, invaded by troops under Gen. MacArthur. Ships of the 7th Fleet supported with shore bombardment; aircraft of the Southwest Pacific air forces gave air cover. Lorengao Air Base was captured in 72 hours. (Occupation of the Admiralty Islands was virtually completed by the end of April.)
15 March
B‑24s of the Central Pacific air force made first land-based air attack on Truk. The island was not blacked out. Installations were bombed; fires were started.
16 March
Gasmata, on the south shore of New Britain, opposite Willaumez Peninsula, was invaded by troops under Gen. MacArthur. No opposition was encountered.
17‑18 March
U.S. destroyers bombarded Wewak, New Guinea. (This base and shipping in that area were subjected to heavy, continued shore‑based attacks from 11‑27 March.)
18 March
Mille Island, Mille Atoll, Marshall Islands, was bombed by carrier aircraft and shelled by heavy surface units.
19 March
Fourth Marines landed unopposed on Emirau Islands, St. Matthias group (75 miles northwest of Kavieng), thus completing the encirclement of Rabaul, Kavieng, and other enemy positions in the Bismarck Archipelago and Solomon Islands. Diversionary bombardment of Kavieng was conducted by heavy surface ships, which poured in more than 1,000 tons of shells. Operation was under general direction of ADM William F. Halsey, Jr., USN, Commander, South Pacific Area and South Pacific Force of the U.S. Fleet.
22 March
U.S. Pacific Fleet destroyers bombarded Mussau island, largest of St. Matthias Group, 15 miles northwest of Emirau. Ailinglapalap Atoll, Marshall Islands, was secured.
23 March
Namu Atoll, Marshall Islands, was secured.
24 March
Ebon Atoll, Marshall Islands, was secured.
26 March
Namorik Atoll, Marshall Islands, was secured.
27 March
Kill Island, Marshall Islands, was secured. U.S. Pacific Fleet destroyers bombarded Kapingamarangi (Greenwich) Atoll, north of New Ireland.
29‑31 March
In the deepest penetration yet made of enemy defenses, carrier forces under tactical command of ADM Raymond A. Spruance, USN, heavily attacked the Palau Islands with additional strikes at Yap, MIMI and Woleai in the western Carolines. The approaching force was detected, and many enemy ships, including heavy units, fled from Palau anchorages. However, on 20‑30 March, 29 Japanese ships were sunk at Palau: 3 destroyers; 2 large, 6 medium and 9 small freighters: 3 large, 1 medium and 1 small tanker; and 4 smaller vessels. 4 18 other vessels were severely damaged, some of them fired or beached, 114 Jap aircraft were shot down; 46 destroyed on the ground. Yap and Ulithi were hit on the 30th. At Yap, 1 small craft was sunk; at Ulithi, 1 sunk, 1 damaged. At Woleai on the 31st, 7 aircraft were destroyed on the ground, 3 barges destroyed. Installations at all four locations suffered heavy damage. Our losses were 25 aircraft lost in combat.
30 March
Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, was secured.
April 1944
1 April
Ailuk Atoll, Marshall Islands, was secured.
2 April
Mejit Atoll and Jemo Island (uninhabited), Marshall Islands, was secured.
3 April
Rongelap, Likiep, Ailinginae and Rongerik atolls (latter two uninhabited), Marshall Islands, were secured.
5 April
U.S. troops land on Ram Buyto in the Admiralty Islands, without opposition. Utirik, Bikar and Taka atolls (latter uninhabited), Marshall Islands, secured.
11 April
“Major portion” of New Britain is ours, according to announcement from Gen. MacArthur’s headquarters. Formerly strong enemy positions at Cape Hoskins and Gasmata have been abandoned and the Japanese have fled for a last stand at Rabaul.
15 April
Alaska and Aleutians separated from 13th Naval District and made the 17th Naval District.
Rear (now Vice) ADM John H. Hoover, USN, was designated Commander Forward Area, Central Pacific, by ADM C. W. Nimitz, USN, with command over all forces assigned to the Forward Area, including land-based air forces.
18 April
Saipan, Tinian and Aguijan Islands in the Marianas were bombed in daylight by PB4Ys of Fleet Air Wing 2 and B‑24s of 7th AAF.
19 April
Sabang, enemy base off the northern tip of Sumatra, was bombarded by an Allied task force of carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers and submarines. Among the capital ships was the USS SARATOGA (CV-3). ADM Sir James Somerville, Royal Navy, commanded the force. This was the first time in World War II that ships of the Pacific Fleet had operated with British units on an offensive mission in the Indian Ocean.
20‑23 April
Forces of the 5th Fleet provided air and surface support for landings of Southwest Pacific forces at Aitape and Hollandia on the northern coast of New Guinea. 5th Fleet carrier aircraft bombed and strafed Japanese airfields at Wakde, Sawar and in the Hollandia area, 5th Fleet cruisers and destroyers bombarded Japanese airfields at Wakde and Sawar at night. Ground installations, fuel and ammunition dumps were destroyed in these strikes. It is estimated that 5th Fleet aircraft whose operations were coordinated with those of the Southwest Pacific Air Forces – destroyed 88 Japanese aircraft on the ground, 34 in the air; and 1 small cargo vessel and 6 small craft. 5th Fleet losses: 10 aircraft in combat.
21 April
Under cover furnished by ships of the 5th and 7th Fleets, and shore‑based aircraft of the Southwest Pacific forces, troops under command of Gen. MacArthur went ashore at Humboldt Bay and Tanahmerah Bay to secure Hollandia, and also at Aitape. Opposition was light. Beachheads were quickly secured and by the 28th, all airfields and airdromes at both areas were in hand.
This move effectively isolated at least 60,000 Japs of the Japanese 18th Army between Aitape and Madang, and made it possible to blockade them as enemy troops in the Solomons, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Marshalls were being blockaded.
In this operation the 5th Fleet units were under tactical command of VADM Marc A. Mitscher, USN, and the 7th Fleet units were under RADM D. E. Barbey, USN.
Erikub and Aur Atolls, Marshall Islands, were secured.
23 April
Ujelang Atoll, Marshall Islands, was secured without opposition. This completed the Marshalls operation. In period of about 12 weeks, our forces had captured about 90% of the enemy possessions in the Marshalls, and completely dominated the 330,000 square miles of sea and air in their environs. So effective had been our air and surface covering operations that of the 24 atolls and 3 islands taken, only Kwajalein and Eniwetok had been heavily defended. Enemy casualties: 10,902 killed and 523 prisoners of war. Our casualties: 566 killed and missing, 1683 wounded. Japanese bases on the following four atolls, completely bypassed, blockaded and pounded by daily air attacks, were left to “wither on the vine:” Jaluit, Mille, Wotje, Maloelap.
24 April
Madang on the coast of Northeast New Guinea occupied by Australian and United States troops. On the 26th, these troops occupied Alexishafen in the same area. This seizure gave Allied forces control of Vitiaz Strait off Northeast New Guinea, and major base and port facilities.
29‑30 April
Returning from the Hollandia operation, 5th Fleet units under VADM Mitscher attacked Truk. Carrier aircraft heavily bombed and strafed ground installations, doing extensive damage. Other enemy losses 63 aircraft shot down, 60 destroyed on the ground; 4 small craft sunk. We lost 27 aircraft.
30 April
Pacific Fleet cruisers and destroyers bombarded Satawan, in the Nomoi Group, Caroline Islands. The target area, which the Japanese had been developing as an air base, was thoroughly covered with heavy projectiles. RADM J. B. Oldendorf, USN, commanded the forces.
May 1944
1 May
Battleships of the 5th Fleet, supported by carrier aircraft, bombarded Ponape in the Carolines. Numerous buildings in Ponape town, the seaplane base, and the wharf area were destroyed. (Ponape and other Japanese bases in the Carolines had suffered increasingly heavy shore‑based air attacks during the months of March and April. Such attacks were further stepped up during May.)
13‑14 May
Land‑based bombers heavily attack Jaluit, Marshall Islands.
16‑19 May
Wakde Islands, 115 miles west of Hollandia along the New Guinea coast, seized by U.S. Army units under SACSWPA.
17 May
Soerabaja, Java attacked by carrier aircraft of the Allied naval force which had attacked Sabang on 19 April. This raid coincided with landings at Wakde. Damage inflicted: At least 10 enemy ships damaged, some heavily. 26 aircraft destroyed. Ground installations damaged. Our losses: 1 aircraft. Destroyers bombarded Maloelap.
19‑20 May
Pacific Fleet carriers bombed and strafed enemy installations on Marcus Island in two‑day air attack.
20 May
Cruisers and destroyers bombarded enemy positions in the Shortland Islands, just south of Bougainville.
21 May
Land‑based aircraft heavily bombed Wotje, Marshall Islands.
22 May
Destroyers bombarded Wotje.
23 May
Carrier aircraft bombed Wake Island.
26 May
Destroyers bombarded Mille, Marshall Islands.
27 May
Biak Island, 180 miles west of Wakde off New Guinea coast, was invaded by U.S. Army units under command of Gen. MacArthur. They were supported by bombing and naval bombardment by ships of the 7th Fleet. From Biak, Davao, in the Philippines is less than 80 miles and the Palau Islands are slightly over 500 miles.
29 May
Medina, on northern coast of New Ireland, was bombarded by Pacific Fleet destroyers.
June 1944
9 June
Japanese base at Fangelawa Bay, New Ireland, was bombarded by Pacific Fleet destroyers.
10 June
Aircraft of a fast carrier task force struck at enemy airpower on Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Pagan and Guam in the Marianas. Installations, positions and parked aircraft were bombed and strafed. Approximately 150 enemy aircraft were destroyed, about three‑fourths of them in the air. Our losses: 11 aircraft.
11 June
Japanese convoy of about 20 vessels fleeing the Marianas was attacked by our carrier aircraft west of Pagan. Most of the ships were sunk or heavily damaged. Another enemy convoy consisting of 6 vessels was similarly attacked west of Guam, and damaged. Other shipping in the Marianas area was attacked by our aircraft. Ground installations on Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Pagan and Guam were bombed and strafed.
12 June
Attacks by carrier aircraft on the Marianas were continued. Battleships conducted a day‑long bombardment of Saipan. Night of 12‑13 June: Destroyers bombarded Saipan and Tinian.
13 June
Carrier airstrikes on the Marianas were continued. Battleships bombarded Saipan and Tinian. Pacific Fleet cruisers, destroyers and aircraft attacked enemy installations on Matsuwa Island in the Kurils.
14 June
Covered by heavy air and surface bombardment, our troops went ashore at Saipan, main Japanese base in the Marianas and headquarters of the Japanese Commander-in-Chief, Central Pacific Area. Vigorous opposition had developed. Fighting on Saipan ranked with the severest in the Pacific war, but its seizure constituted a major breach in the Japanese line of inner defenses. The expeditionary force included the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions and the 27th Infantry Division, United States Army. The Saipan operation, like the other invasions in the Marianas, was under the general direction of ADM Raymond A. Spruance, USN, Commander, Fifth Fleet, with VADM Richmond K. Turner, USN, in charge of the expeditionary forces. (Saipan is 3,300 miles from Pearl Harbor, 1,000 miles from Eniwetok and 1,260 miles from Tokyo.)
During the evening, Japanese aircraft attacked our ships in the Saipan area. 15 aircraft were shot down.
Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands and Chichijima and Hahajima in the Bonins were attacked by our carrier aircraft. Installations were bombed and strafed. Jap losses: 39 aircraft shot down, 25 destroyed on the ground. Two freighters were sunk, several heavily damaged. Our losses: 8 aircraft. This was our first carrier strike on the Volcanos and Bonins.
15 June
Installations on Iwo Jima were bombed and strafed by our carrier aircraft. There was no airborne opposition but anti-aircraft fire was heavy. We lost 3 aircraft. Carrier strikes continued on the Marianas area. China‑based B‑29s bombed Yawata, steel center on northern Kyushu, in Japan. This was the first attack by land‑based aircraft on the main Japanese Islands, and the first time B‑29 bombers were used in an offensive invasion. VADM J. H. Newton, USN, relieved ADM William F. Halsey, USN, as Commander South Pacific Area and South Pacific Force. ADM Halsey remained Commander 3rd Fleet.
16 June
Carrier aircraft continued to bomb enemy installations in the Marianas in support of our expanding beachhead.
17 June
U.S. forces on Saipan captured Aslito (later Iseley) Airfield.
18 June
Aircraft from Japanese carrier striking force attacked our sea forces covering the Saipan operation in the first stage of the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The enemy attack continued for several hours. The Japanese aircraft were intercepted and a high percentage of them shot down. Enemy losses for the day: 402 aircraft, all but 17 of which were destroyed in the air; two carriers damaged. Our losses: 17 aircraft and superficial damage to two carriers and a battleship.
19 June
Aircraft from our carriers attacked the Japanese carrier striking force, in the second stage of the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Jap losses: 1 aircraft carrier, 1 light aircraft carrier, 2 destroyers, 1 tanker sunk; 1 aircraft carrier, 1 destroyer and 1 tanker possibly sunk; 1 aircraft carrier, 1 or 2 light aircraft carriers, 1 battle ship, 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 1 destroyer and 3 tankers damaged. 26 Japanese aircraft were shot down. Our losses: 93 aircraft (many of the personnel were rescued from these planes, a large percentage of which had been forced to land on the water in the darkness that night).
From this date until 7 July, Guam and Rota were attacked each day by at least one strike from our carrier forces. On that day continued heavy surface bombardment – coordinated with the airstrikes – began.
20 June
Our fleet attempted to pursue and to contact the enemy fleet, which was in a full speed retreat. The enemy eluded our search.
22‑23 June
Installations on Pagan were bombed and strafed by our carrier aircraft.
23 June
Our carrier aircraft struck at Iwo Jima. Japanese losses: 68 aircraft near Iwo Jima, 46 in unsuccessful thrusts at our carriers‑total 114 aircraft lost in the air. Our losses: 5 aircraft.
25‑26 June
Kurabu Zaki, an important enemy base on Paramushiru in the Kurils, was bombarded at night by our cruisers and destroyers. Guam was bombarded by surface units.
30 June‑1 July
Guam again bombarded by surface units.
July 1944
1 July
Under cover of naval and air bombardment troops under command of Gen. MacArthur landed at Kamiri on Noemfoor Island, 100 miles west of Biak Island off Dutch New Guinea. Key Kamiri airfield was captured without much opposition 1 hour and 51 minutes aft the landing.
2‑3 July
Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands and Hahajima the Bonins were heavily attacked by carrier aircraft. Bombs, machine guns and rockets were used. On the 3rd, Iwo Jima was shelled by surface units. Meanwhile, Iwo Jima was attacked by a fast carrier task group. In these strikes 9 ships were sunk, 8 damaged, together with a larger number of small craft. 26 Japanese aircraft were shot down and 128 were left inoperable on the ground. We lost 22 aircraft.
6 July
Several thousand Japanese troops launched a desperate counterattack on our forces at Saipan. Our casualties were severe, but the charge was thrown back with more than 1,500 enemy troops killed.
7 July
Guam was bombarded by surface units. From this time until the landing on the 20th, Guam was and constant surface bombardment, with coordinated strikes by our carrier aircraft. Continued attacks were also made on Rota.
8 July
Organized resistance ended on Saipan. This was one of the most significant victories won by U.S. forces in the Pacific. It led directly to the fall of the Tojo cabinet in Tokyo. Mopping up continued. Through 9 December, 26,571 Japanese had been killed and 2,099 captured on Saipan.
B‑29s based on the continent of Asia bombarded the Japanese naval base at Sasebo and the steel center of Yawata in Japan. This was the second B‑29 raid on the Japanese homeland, the first having occurred on 15 June.
12 July
2nd Marine Division landed on Maniagassa Island, 2 miles off the northwestern coast of Saipan.
13 July
Iwo Jima was bombed by aircraft of the Central Pacific shore‑based air forces. This was the first raid on the Nanpo Shoto by land‑based aircraft of the Pacific Ocean Areas.
15‑17 July
Guam was shelled at close range by battleships, cruisers and destroyers, in the heightening campaign to obliterate gun emplacements and other installations. Tinian was shelled during the night of the 15‑16th by destroyers.
20 July
Supported by carrier aircraft and heavy surface bombardment, our troops invaded Guam, largest and southernmost of the Marianas, establishing beachheads on both sides of Apra Harbor. The landing forces included the 3rd Marine Division, the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade and the 77th Infantry Division. There was little opposition to the landings themselves, but determined opposition developed inland. From this date until 7 August, our battleships, cruisers and destroyers furnished fire support to the troops ashore on Guam. Carrier aircraft also provided continued support.
21 July
Artillery and naval gunfire were directed against Tinian.
23 July
2nd and 4th Marine Divisions landed on Tinian supported by carrier and land-based aircraft and artillery and naval gunfire. Casualties in the landing forces were light. As at Guam, naval gunfire and carrier aircraft support was provided our troops on Tinian in the days following the assault.
24‑27 July
Carrier aircraft of a fast carrier task group attacked enemy installations in the Palau Islands. Also attacked were Yap, Ulithi, Fais, Ngulu and Soror in the western Carolines.
29 July
Tinian town was captured. Apra Harbor, site of former U.S. naval base on Guam, was again put into use by our ships.
29‑30 July
Supported by Allied naval and air forces, troops under Gen. MacArthur landed on the 29th on the islands of Amsterdam and Middleburg and at Cape Opmari, near Sansapor in northwestern Vogelkop, near the western tip of Netherlands New Guinea. These islands are nearly 200 miles beyond our base on Noemfoor Island and slightly more than 600 miles southeast of the Philippines. On the 30th, we landed at Cape Sansapor. There was little opposition to these landings. This move bypassed Manokwari, pivotal enemy base in the Vogelkop Peninsula, and effectively neutralized New Guinea as an enemy base of operations.
31 July
Organized resistance ceased on Tinian. Mopping up continued. Through 9 December, 6,932 Japanese had been killed, 321 taken prisoner on Tinian.
August 1944
2 August
American flag was formally raised on Tinian.
3 August
Air and surface units of a fast carrier task force virtually wiped out a Japanese convoy and raided airfields and installations in the Bonin and Volcano Islands (Mukojima, Chichijima, Hahajima, Anejima, Iwo Jima). Japanese losses were 11 ships sunk, 8 ships damaged; 6 aircraft shot down, 7 destroyed on the ground. We lost 16 planes.
9 August
Organized Japanese resistance ended on Guam. Mopping up continued. Through 9 December, 17,436 Japanese had been killed, and 512 captured on Guam.
30‑31 August & 1 September
Chichijima and Hahajima in the Bonins, and Iwo Jima in the Volcanos were bombed and strafed by aircraft of a fast carrier task force on 30th and the 1st, Chichijima and Hahajima were bombarded by cruisers and destroyers. Japanese losses were: 6 ships sunk, 4 ships probably sunk, 3 ships damaged; 11 aircraft shot down, 35 destroyed on ground. Installations, airfields and supply dumps were damaged. We lost 5 aircraft.
31 August
ADM Nimitz announced that Lt. Gen, Millard F. Harmon had assumed command of all Army Air Force units operating in the Pacific Ocean Areas.
September 1944
3 September
Cruisers and destroyers did extensive damage to enemy installations on Wake Island by surface bombardment. There was no air opposition.
5 September
Aircraft of a fast carrier task force group bombed Palau Islands. Installations were damaged. 17 small craft were left burning.
5‑7 September
Carrier aircraft bombed and strafed Yap and Ulithi in the western Carolines.
6 September
Enemy installations in the Palau Islands were shelled by cruisers and destroyers of the Pacific Fleet.
8 September
Carrier aircraft attacked Mindanao Island in the Philippines. 68 enemy aircraft were shot down, 32 loaded freighters in convoy were sunk by combined air and surface attack; 20 ships in Davao Gulf were damaged; 20 small craft were sunk, 17 damaged.
9 September
Carrier aircraft attacked Angaur, Peleliu and Koror Islands in the Palau Group, and bombed installations and shipping.
10‑11 September
Babelthuap, Peleliu and Angaur were attacked by carrier aircraft of the Pacific Fleet. On the 11th, these islands were bombarded by battleships.
11‑13 September
Carrier aircraft shot down 156 enemy aircraft and destroyed 277 on the ground in strikes at Leyte, Cebu, Negros and Panay Islands in the Visayas group, Philippines. 40 enemy ships were sunk, 44 damaged. Ground installations were damaged.
12 September
Carrier aircraft hit Angaur, Peleliu and Ngesebus in the Palau Islands.
14 September
Supported by fleet air and surface units the 1st Marine Division landed on Peleliu in the Palau Islands. The amphibious operations were commanded by VADM T. S. Wilkinson, USN, Commander, Third Amphibious Force. Expeditionary troops were commanded by Maj. Gen. Julian C. Smith, USMC Ground opposition was fairly stiff. The fast carrier task force supporting the operation was commanded by VADM Marc A. Mitscher, USN. At almost the same hour, our troops under command of Gen. MacArthur landed on Morotai in the Halmaheras. Opposition was negligible and an airfield was captured the first day.
15 September
Carrier aircraft bombed enemy positions and installations on Babelthuap and Peleliu in the Palau Islands.
16 September
The 81st Infantry Division, U.S. Army, invaded Angaur, southernmost of the Palau Islands, under cover of air and surface bombardment. Opposition was light. Military government was set up on Peleliu Island.
19 September
Organized resistance ceased on Angaur Island.
20‑21 September
Elements of the 81st Infantry Division, covered by ships of the Pacific Fleet, occupied Ulithi Atoll in the western Carolines. They were unopposed. The Pacific war came back, after 2½ years, to the Island of Luzon, with a smashing two‑day attack by carrier‑based aircraft of the Pacific Fleet. Japanese losses:
40 ships sunk.
11 ships probably sunk.
6 small craft sunk.
11 small craft damaged.
2 floating drydocks damaged.
169 aircraft shot down.
188 aircraft destroyed on the ground.
45 aircraft damaged on the ground.
3 aircraft damaged by ships gunfire.
Extensive, widespread damage to military targets.
Our losses: 11 aircraft.
28 September
Carrier planes of the Pacific Fleet struck at Cebu, Leyte, Negros, Luzon, and Nactan, in the Visayas Group of the Philippine Islands. Japanese losses were 22 ships sunk, 43 ships damaged, 20 to 30 small craft sunk or damaged; 7 aircraft shot down, 29 destroyed on the ground.
27 September
1st Marine Division landed on Ngesebus and Kongauru in the Palaus Islands, with the usual air and surface bombardment cover. Both islands were quickly secured.
30 September
Military government was proclaimed on Angaur. Military government was set up on Kongauru and Ngesebus Islands.
October 1944
8 October
Marcus Island was bombarded by surface units of the Pacific Fleet. Elements of the 81st Infantry Division landed on Garakayo in the southern Palau Islands. The island was secured the following day.
9 October
For the first time of the war, carrier aircraft of the Pacific Fleet attacked the Ryukyu Archipelago. The strikes were in great force. 46 enemy ships and 41 small craft were sunk. 20 ships were probably sunk; 20 ships damaged. 23 enemy aircraft were shot down, 59 destroyed on the ground; 37 were damaged on the ground. Ground installations were heavily damaged. Our losses: 8 aircraft.
10 October
Troops of the 81st Infantry Division landed on Bairakaseru Island, Palau. There was no opposition. Our carrier planes attacked Luzon Island in force.
12 October
Organized resistance on Peleliu ceased. Mopping up continued. Through 9 December, total Japanese casualties on Peleliu and Angaur were 13,354 killed, 433 taken prisoner.
11‑15 October
Aircraft of a fast carrier task force struck Formosa in force 11‑13 October. Air battles ensued which lasted until the 15th. Enemy losses were: 416 aircraft destroyed; 32 ships sunk, 13 probably sunk, 55 damaged. We lost 66 aircraft. Ground installations were extensively damaged. (Following our carrier attacks on Formosa and Luzon, Tokyo announced a great Japanese victory, claiming 11 U.S. carriers were sunk, 6 damaged; 2 battleships sunk, 1 damaged; 3 cruisers sunk, 4 damaged etc. These figures were raised in a broadcast of 25 November to the following: 50 carriers, 20 battleships, 2 battleships or cruisers, 30 cruisers, 16 cruisers or destroyers, 7 destroyers and 22 unidentified craft sunk or damaged. See entry for October 17 below).
13 October
Luzon was attacked by carrier aircraft. No airborne opposition.
15 October
Carrier aircraft struck again at Manila Bay area. Ngulu Atoll, in the western Carolines, was occupied. Resistance was slight.
16 October
Carrier aircraft attacked Manila area. Japanese losses were: 20 aircraft shot down, 30‑40 destroyed on the ground.
17-18 October
Carrier aircraft attacked northern Luzon and the Manila area. 56 enemy aircraft were destroyed; four ships were sunk, 23 damaged. Our losses were: 7 aircraft.
17 October
The Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, announced that no U.S. battleship or aircraft carrier had been damaged in the Formosa and Luzon battles. Two medium sized ships had been damaged.
19 October
Carrier aircraft of a fast carrier task force bombed, rocketed and strafed targets in the Visayas Group, Philippine Islands. U.S. 6th Army, under command of Gen. MacArthur began landings on Leyte supported by the largest concentration of Allied forces yet assembled in the Pacific. This goaded the Japanese Navy to action. Three powerful enemy task forces converged on the landing beaches from the South China Sea and the Japanese home islands. Thus, the stage was set for the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea.
20 October
Carrier aircraft strafed and bombed enemy aircraft and shipping targets in the Philippine Islands.
22-27 October
SECOND BATTLE OF THE PHILIPPINE SEA. This was one of the decisive victories of the war in the Pacific. Enemy losses: 2 battleships, 4 carriers, 6 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, 3 small cruisers or large destroyers, 6 destroyers. Severely damaged, may have sunk: 1 battleship, 5 cruisers, 7 destroyers. Damaged: 6 battleships, 4 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 10 destroyers. U.S. losses: Sunk: the light carrier PRINCETON (CVL-23); 2 escort carriers, the ST. LO (CVE-63) and the GAMBIER BAY (CVE-73); 2 destroyers, the JOHNSTON (DD-557) and the HOEL (DD-533); 1 destroyer escort, the SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (DE-413); and a few lesser craft. Our units involved were from the 3rd and 7th Fleets. In this battle the Japanese fleet was divided into three forces:
FORCE “A”: 5 battleships, 10 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 13‑15 destroyers. Two heavy cruisers were sunk west of Palawan on the 22nd as Force “A” proceeded north. A third, damaged, turned back. On the 23rd, Force “A” was attacked by our carrier aircraft in the Mindoro Straits. 1 light cruiser was sunk. 1 battleship and 1 light cruiser were heavily damaged and turned back. Several other ships were hit. This force continued through the San Bernardino Straits on the 24th, however, and on that date was met by escort carriers and other light units of the 7th Fleet east of Samar. Aircraft of the 3rd Fleet entered the engagement about noon. At least one enemy heavy cruiser was sunk, 1 destroyer left dead in the water. The entire Japanese force turned back. Later in the day the force again was attacked by our aircraft, and a damaged cruiser was sunk by our surface units. On the 25th, this fleeing force again was attacked by carrier aircraft and 1 heavy cruiser and 1 light cruiser were sunk and other vessels damaged.
FORCE “B”: 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 7 destroyers and possibly 2 light cruisers. This force was attacked in the Sulu Sea on the 23rd by our carrier aircraft, and damaged. As it passed through Surigao Straits (night of October 24‑‑25) it was attacked by our force and all units sunk or decisively defeated.
FORCE “C”: 1 carrier, 3 light carriers, 2 battleships with flight deck aft, 5 cruisers, 10 destroyers. This force, proceeding southward off the east coast of Luzon, was surprised by our 3rd Fleet carrier planes early on the 24th. All carriers were sunk. 1 battleship with a flight deck aft was damaged, 2 cruisers or destroyers sunk. 1 damaged cruiser was sunk during the next night by a U.S. submarine.
28 October
Carrier aircraft attacked southern Luzon and the Central Philippines. Enemy losses: 3 cargo vessels sunk, 1 cruiser probably sunk, 2 cruisers and 1 tanker damaged; 78 aircraft shot down, 12 destroyed on the ground.
November 1944
1 November
A carrier group of the 3rd Fleet was attacked in the Western Pacific by enemy aircraft. Damage was inflicted on several ships. Ten of the attacking aircraft were destroyed.
4 November
Carrier aircraft of the 3rd Fleet attacked Manila Harbor and five nearby airfields, 191 enemy aircraft were destroyed. Two enemy cruisers, 3 destroyers and several cargo ships were damaged.
5 November
Carrier aircraft of the 3rd Fleet continued attacks on Luzon. In addition to the enemy’s aircraft losses of 4 November, 249 aircraft were destroyed. 3 cargo vessels and an oiler were sunk. 6 other vessels were damaged. Ground installations were heavily damaged.
7-8 November
Approximately 200 Japanese landed on Ngeregong Island northeast of Peleliu where a small Marine patrol had previously landed. The Marines were evacuated without loss.
10 November
Iwo Jima was bombarded by ships of the Pacific Fleet. Carrier aircraft of the 3rd Fleet attacked a 10‑ship enemy convoy just outside Ormoc Bay, destroying 7 ships, probably sinking 2 others, and damaging the other ship. 15 enemy aircraft were downed. We lost 9 aircraft.
12 November
Carrier aircraft attacked shipping in Manila Bay. 1 light cruiser, 4 destroyers, 11 cargo ships and oilers were sunk. 28 enemy aircraft were downed, 130‑140 strafed on the ground.
14 November
Troops of the 81st Infantry Division reoccupied Ngeregong in the Palau Islands, which had been heavily attacked with bombs and gunfire. There was no resistance.
18 November
Aircraft from a carrier task force struck shipping and airfields in and around Manila. 10 ships were damaged, 1 sunk; 100 enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground.
21 November
Matsuwa in the Kurils was bombarded by a naval task force. Shore batteries did not reply.
24 November
Carrier-based aircraft of the 3rd Fleet attacked Luzon. 18 vessels were sunk; 16 were damaged. 87 enemy aircraft were destroyed. In the first B-29 raid on Japan from our newly established super‑bomber base on Saipan, high explosives and incendiaries were poured on the Tokyo waterfront area and on the Musashina aircraft plant (Prior to this raid, B‑29s based in the India-China theater had attacked Japan six times, beginning with the first of such raids on 15 June 1944; and Maj. Gen. James H. Doolittle’s filers had struck Japan once with B‑26s taking off from the USS HORNET (CV-8), on 18 April 1942.)
December 1944
6 December
Japanese aircraft raided B‑29 base at Saipan. 6 enemy aircraft shot down. 1 B-29 was destroyed, 2 damaged.
7 December
A very heavy attack on Iwo Jima was carried out by a large force of B‑29s, together with 108 Liberators and 30 Lightnings. On the same day naval surface units bombarded the island.
8 December
CinCPac communiqué announced that Lt. Gen. Millard F. Harmon had been assigned to command the Strategic Air Force, Pacific Ocean Areas, including all shore‑based aircraft of the Pacific Ocean Areas normally employed on offensive missions.
11 December
Great Britain announced that a British Pacific Fleet would be sent to the Pacific theater, under command of ADM Sir Bruce Fraser, GCB, KBE. On the 19th, it was announced that FADM Nimitz and ADM Fraser and their respective staffs were engaged in a series of conferences at FADM Nimitz’s head quarters.
13-15 December
Carrier aircraft of the Pacific Fleet bombed and strafed harbor and airfield installations on Luzon. Enemy losses: 34 ships sunk, 36 damaged; 61 aircraft destroyed in the air, 208 destroyed on the ground. We lost 27 aircraft.
15 December
Army troops under Gen. MacArthur invaded Mindoro Island, South of Luzon, in the Philippines.
19 December
ADM C. W. Nimitz, CinCPac and CinCPoa, assumed the rank of a Fleet Admiral of the United States Navy.
20 December
Organized resistance on Leyte has ended, according to announcement from Gen. MacArthur’s headquarters on Leyte.
Do you mean September 28 instead of 8?
1 Like
Mistake in the actual press release. I just corrected it 
were the proofreaders too busy fucking a Navy Twink to notice that mistake? Which I mean fair, I would too.
Either that or they were in a rush. It’s New Year’s Eve after all.
1 Like
Address by German Propaganda Minister Goebbels
December 31, 1944, 8:15 p.m. CET
Meine deutschen Volksgenossen und Volksgenossinnen!
Das Ende des Kriegsjahres 1944 findet die abendländische Menschheit in einer wahrhaft tragischen Situation. Wenn die verführten Völker Europas nach fünf Jahren Krieg gehofft hatten, dass ihre trostlose Lage durch das Heranrücken der anglo-amerikanischen Streitkräfte eine Erleichterung erfahren würde, so sind diese Hoffnungen gerade durch die Entwicklung der letzten Monate grausam enttäuscht und Lügen gestraft worden. Wo diese Feinde des Reiches und der europäischen Neuordnung auftraten, stellten sich unverzüglich Hunger, Elend und politisches und wirtschaftliches Chaos in ihrem Gefolge ein.
Mit einem nicht mehr überbietbaren Zynismus äußerte vor einigen Tagen eine amerikanisch-jüdische Zeitung, dass den gequälten Völkern unseres Kontinents von den versprochenen vier Freiheiten des US-Präsidenten Roosevelt nur eine geblieben sei, die er allerdings nicht versprochen hätte, nämlich die, zu klagen.
Und so ist es in der Tat. Das Jahr 1944 hat die allgemeine Krise Europas, ja der ganzen gesitteten Welt auf einen neuen Höhepunkt getragen. Wir sehen heute in den Nachrichtenmitteln der Feindseite Ereignisse mit ein paar nichtssagenden Zeilen abgetan, die in normalen Zeiten Völker und Kontinente in die tiefste Bestürzung versetzen würden. Kürzlich wurden bei einem Bombenangriff auf ein berühmtes deutsches Kulturzentrum einige US-Terrorbomber abgeschossen, deren Besatzungen mit den Fallschirmen ausstiegen. Es handelte sich um betrunkene Neger, die gerade ein Bauwerk in Schutt und Asche gelegt hatten, das, so sollte man meinen, zu den unveräußerlichen Besitztümern der Kulturwelt gehörte.
Die Gefangenen wussten nicht einmal, über welcher deutschen Stadt sie ihre Bomben- und Brandlast abgeworfen hatten, geschweige welche unersetzlichen Güter ihrem Barbarismus zum Opfer gefallen waren. Das Jahr 1944 charakterisiert sich selbst durch diesen Vorgang am Rande am allertreffendsten.
Aber was bedeutet er dem vielfältigen Leid gegenüber, das es über die Völker der Erde und nicht am wenigsten über das deutsche gebracht hat. Wenn es in diesem Wirbel aufwühlender Ereignisse, die die Welt von Woche zu Woche und von Monat zu Monat steigend in Atem hielten, überhaupt eine Kraft gibt, die uns mit Glauben und feste Zuversicht erfüllen kann, dann ist es die, die das deutsche Volk seinem Schicksal und seinem geschichtlichen Auftrag gegenüber gezeigt hat und heute zum Abschluss dieses Jahres mehr denn je zeigt. Es hat uns in einer Art und Weise reifen und über uns selbst hinauswachsen lassen, die auch uns wahrscheinlich in stillen, nachdenklichen Stunden mit fassungslosem Staunen erfüllt. Das deutsche Volk war in diesem schlimmen Jahr, nehmt alles nur in allem! Der ruhende Pol in der Erscheinungen Flucht. Gäben wir nicht, allein schon durch unser Vorhandensein, darüber hinaus aber auch durch unsere Standhaftigkeit und durch unser unerschütterliches Festhalten an den von uns beschworenen Idealen, dem Krieg seinen Sinn und sein Gepräge, dann wäre er längst völlig sinnlos geworden, und die Menschheit würde über kurz oder lang wieder in die finsterste Barbarei und stumpfeste Primitivität der Urzeit zurücksinken.
Diese Überzeugung verleiht uns auch die Kraft zu weiterem Durchhalten und zur Überwindung der manchmal unüberwindlich scheinenden Schwierigkeiten, die sich auf unserem Weg zum Siegs auftürmen und immer erneut auftürmen werden, bis wir ihn sicher und fest in unseren Händen halten. In diesem Krieg erfüllen wir unsere große deutsche Mission, mit der wir stehen und fallen.
Es wäre ein Unterfangen, das meine Kräfte weit übersteigen würde, wenn ich den Versuch wagen wollte, in meinen heutigen Darlegungen das Kriegsjahr 1944 auch nur in seinen wichtigsten Vorgängen noch einmal an unserem geistigen Auge Revue passieren zu lassen. Ich wüsste nicht, wo ich da anfangen und wo ich aufhören sollte. Fast jeder seiner Monate brachte politische und militärische Ereignisse umwälzenden Charakters, die sich heute noch nicht zu einem festumrissenen Gesamtbild zusammengefügt haben.
Wir stehen am Abschluss einer alten und an der Schwelle einer neuen Zeit. Diese neue Zeit ist den tiefer Blickenden zwar schon in Konturen sichtbar geworden, aber sie muss noch durch neue Tatsachen und Ereignisse voll ausgefüllt werden. Infolgedessen können wir heute nur den Versuch machen, den Krieg von einer höheren Warte aus zu betrachten ihn sozusagen im Blickfeld eines geschichtlichen Vorgangs zu überprüfen, unbeschadet des Umstandes, dass wir selbst seine Mitgestalter und auch seine Leidtragenden sind. Er hat selbstverständlich seinen historischen Sinn wie jedes Ereignis in der Geschichte von diesen Ausmaßen und dieser Reichweite. Welchen Sinn unsere Feinde ihm beilegen, das ist uns heute völlig unbegreiflich. Wir können in ihnen nur die Träger und Verfechter eines bösen Weltprinzips erkennen gegen die wir uns zur Wehr setzen müssen, und zwar mit allen uns zur Verfügung stehenden Kräften, wenn wir nicht unser Leben verlieren und damit überhaupt das Licht der Menschheit zum Erlöschen bringen wollen.
So auch nur sind wir imstande, die einzelnen Ereignisse des nun zu Ende gehenden Kriegsjahres 1944 zu verstehen, Sie haben da« deutsche Volk auf die härtesten Proben gestellt, von denen, wie eine Reihe von Beispielen zeigen, meistens eine genügt hätte, um andere Völker völlig zu Boden zu schlagen. Das kann doch nicht ohne Sinn sein! Es müssen doch hinter dieser immer wieder bewiesenen Lebenskraft unseres Volkes eine Idee und ein Lebenswille stehen, die unzerstörbar sind.
Wenn das vergangene Jahr uns nicht erschüttern konnte, was sollte uns dann überhaupt noch zu erschüttern vermögen! Noch stehen uns seine Monate Juli, August, September und Oktober in schauriger Erinnerung: Beginn der feindlichen Invasion im Westen, Großoffensive und Durchbruch der Sowjets an der Mittelfront, die Heimat unter pausenlosem Bombenhagel der feindlichen Luftwaffen, ein verruchter Sprengstoffanschlag auf den Führer mitten in der kritischsten Entwicklung des Krieges, Durchbruch der Anglo-Amerikaner bei Avranches, Abfall Rumäniens, Bulgariens und Finnlands, Verlust der besetzten Westgebiete und Vorstoß der Sowjets bis über die ostpreußische Grenze hinweg.
In diesen wilden Stürmen stand unser Volk wie ein Fels im Meer Seine Feinde wähnten bereits den Weg nach Berlin frei. In London und Washington wurden Wetten 1: 10 abgeschlossen, dass der Krieg in Europa noch im Oktober zu Ende gehen werde. Die US-Kriegswirtschaft stellte sich bereits auf Friedensproduktion um, und Weihnachten sollte in London der Waffenstillstand durch ein großes Feuerwerk gefeiert werden. In diesem Tornado von Unglück, der über uns hinwegbrauste, erhob sich wie ein Wunder der deutsche Mythos.
Das für den Feind Unbegreifliche geschah: Das deutsche Volk und seine Führung dachten nicht an Kapitulation, im Gegenteil, in einer Kraftanstrengung ohnegleichen gewannen sie wieder festen Boden unter den Füssen. Die Idee triumphierte über die rohe Gewalt, Das Licht der Welt flackerte zwar, aber es verlöschte nicht. Kraft kam zu Kraft und Wille zu Willen. Keine Krise war mächtig genug, uns in unserem Lebensnerv zu treffen. Wenn das Reich je eine große Stunde dazu benutzte, zu beweisen, dass es ewig und unvergänglich ist, nicht nur als Traum und Vorstellung, sondern auch als harte und unabänderliche Tatsache, dann diese.
Die schwersten Monate des Krieges haben uns manchen Schweiß- und Blutstropfen gekostet; aber sie werden zweifellos als die heroischste Leistung des deutschen Volkes in die Geschichte dieses gewaltigen Völkerringens eingehen. In ihnen vollzog sich das, was unsere Feinde das deutsche Wunder nennen. Wir erwiesen uns als stärker als sie, ja als viele von uns sogar selbst gedacht hatten, als so stark jedenfalls, dass unser Heldenvolk, verlassen von fast all seinen Bundesgenossen, einsam und nur auf sich selbst geteilt, einer Welt von Feinden trotzend, in wenigen Wochen nicht nur seine Verteidigungsfronten wieder neu stabilisierte, sondern darüber hinaus zu einem kraftvollen Offensivstoß mitten in die für unverwundbar gehaltene Flanke seiner Westgegner ausholen konnte. Unsere Feinde haben diese Tatsache mit fassungslosem Erstaunen zur Kenntnis genommen. Es fehlt ihnen dafür jedes Verständnis. Wir aber verstehen sie. Sie ist kein Wunder, sondern das Ergebnis unseres Glaubens, unseres Kämpfens und unserer Arbeit.
Das Schicksal hat uns nichts geschenkt; im Gegenteil, es hat uns den Erfolg so schwer gemacht, wie das überhaupt nur möglich war. Wir haben ihn seiner Hartnäckigkeit abgetrotzt. Wir wollten einfach nicht untergehen. Wir haben uns im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes in unsere heimatliche Erde festgebissen und festgekrallt, und darum ist sie uns geblieben und wird sie uns weiter bleiben.
Wir haben nicht die Hände in den Schoss gelegt und auf ein Wunder gewartet, wir haben das deutsche Wunder durch unseren Fleiß und durch unsere Tapferkeit Wirklichkeit werden lassen. Das ist die eigentliche große Ruhmestat dieses Krieges.
Wenn wir früher als Kinder in der Schule vom zweiten Punischen Krieg vernahmen und mit heißen Wangen und leuchtenden Augen jenen römischen Senatoren unseren jugendlichen Beifall zollten, die sich weigerten, obschon Hannibal bereits vor den Toren der ewigen Stadt stand, seine Unterhändler zu empfangen, solange noch römischer Boden vom Feind besetzt war, wenn wir mit jenem großen Friedrich bangten, als er nach Kunersdorf die Reste seiner zerschlagenen Armeen wieder auffing und sie, vertrauend auf das Mirakel des Hauses Brandenburg, zu neuen Einheiten zusammenfügte, um sie der Vielzahl seiner Feinde, die ihm scheinbar keine Chance des Gewinnens mehr ließen, entgegenzuwerfen, dann waren unsere jungen Herzen wild bewegt, und wir dachten wohl auch, dass, sollte ein hartes Schicksal das Vaterland einmal in eine ähnliche Zwangs- und Notlage versetzen, wir der Beispiele großer Männer und Völker aus der Geschichte nicht unwürdig sein wollten.
Die Vorsehung hat uns dazu berufen und zum Kampf gestellt, und wir haben uns nicht geweigert ihrem Rufe Folge zu leisten. Man spricht auch im Sprachgebrauch des Alltags von römischen Tugenden, und jedermann weiß, was darunter zu verstehen ist. Man führt preußische Gesinnung als Vorbild an, und keiner, der fragte, was damit gemeint sei. Man wird in kommenden Jahrzehnten und Jahrhunderten ebenso von deutscher Standhaftigkeit reden und damit sagen wollen, das beide Worte dasselbe bedeuten. Wo heute an Stelle früher blühender Gemeinwesen Brandruinen unsere Heimaterde bedecken, werden neue, imposante. Städte erstehen, nach sozialen Gesichtspunkten zum Wohl des Volkes erbaut, und auch die werden später wieder einmal vom Zahn der Zeit zerfressen oder vom Fortschritt der modernen Technik überholt werden, Bleiben aber wird über allem der Lebenswille eines Heldenvolkes, das sich nicht geschlagen gab und deshalb nicht geschlagen werden konnte, das die Nerven besaß, seine Stunde abzuwarten, sie mit Mut und Kühnheit ergriff und immer wieder ergreifen wird, bis es des Segens der Vorsehung und damit des Sieges würdig ist.
Noch immer in der Geschichte sind militärische Auseinandersetzungen derart umwälzenden Charakters, die das Gesicht der Menschheit von Grund auf veränderten, ja es geradezu verwandelt erscheinen ließen, in ihrem Verlauf, und in ihren näheren und weiteren Auswirkungen von großen Männern geführt und bestanden worden, die ihre Völker zu nie gekanntem Heldenmut und einer äußersten Treue zu sich selbst und ihrem historischen Gesetz bewogen und auch in den kritischsten Stunden stets aufs Neue hinrissen. Es handelt sich bei jenen säkularen Erscheinungen um geschichtliche Genies, die ihrer Zeit weit vorangehen und voran leben, die aus der Einsamkeit ihres von der Vorsehung selbst gestellten Auftrages handeln, und die in ihrem weit- und menschheitsumspannenden Wirken voll zu erkennen und zu begreifen, schon eine besondere Gnade bedeutet.
Immer noch sind sie, wie auf Albrecht Dürers berühmten Stich, gepanzert, aber mit offenem Visier durch das Gewürm ihrer niedrigen Feinde hindurchgeritten, tapfer und treu und ohne Furcht und Tadel.
Sie sind die eigentlichen Verwandler der Menschheit. Nach ihnen allein richten sich die Jahrhunderte aus. Wenn Schmerz und Kummer den Weg solcher Umwälzungen begleiten, so sind sie an seinem Ende immer wieder zur tiefsten Beglückung geworden.
In einer solchen Zelt der Umwertung aller Werte leben wir, und das deutsche Volk allein verfügt in ihr über den Mann, der dieser Zeit würdig ist und der sie zu guter Letzt auch bändigen wird.
Man schaue sich im weiten Felde der feindlichen Politik und Kriegführung dieses unsere bisherigen Vorstellungen völlig sprengenden Völkerkampfes um, und man wird keine Persönlichkeit entdecken, die mit dem Führer überhaupt in Vergleich gesetzt werden könnte. Sie sind nur Erscheinungen parlamentarischer Zahlen- und Zufallsspielereien oder blutigsten Massenterrors.
Er aber Ist die Versinnbildlichung und Verkörperung seiner Zeit. Wenn Europa sein Leben rettet, dann nur durch ihn.
Die anderen führen lediglich Phrasen und flüchtige Versprechungen ins Feld, hinter denen jene grausame Wirklichkeit lauert, die die in ihre Gewalt gefallenen Völker bereits in einem bitteren Vorgeschmack zu kosten bekamen. Sie sind sich nur einig in ihrem Hass, in ihrem diabolischen Zerstörungswahnsinn, der sich gegen alles richtet, was sie als über sich stehend empfinden.
Wenn später einmal die Geschichte dieses Krieges geschrieben wird, dann werden die Historiker nicht an der Feststellung vorbeikommen, dass sich in diesen atemberaubenden Stunden der deutschen und europäischen Entwicklung die große Rettung daraus ergab, dass ein Führer ein Volk und ein Volk einen Führer fand, die einander würdig waren.
Sie setzten der Gewalt betörender Phrasen und grausamer Waffen ihrer Feinde die Unverwundbarkeit ihres Herzens entgegen und blieben am Ende doch die Sieger. Was der Krieg uns auch im Einzelnen noch bringen mag an glücklichen und widrigen Ereignissen, wir stehen ihnen gewappnet gegenüber. An jenem 20. Juli des ablaufenden Jahres, da wir einen Augenblick lang wie gelähmt in den tiefen Abgrund eines grenzenlosen Unglücks hinunterschauten, sind wir ein gläubiges Volk geworden.
Keine noch so geschmeidige Überredungskunst des Feindes kann uns von der festen Überzeugung abringen, dass wir einen Weltkampf gegen die Macht des Bösen durchzustehen haben und dass uns der Sieg gewiss ist, wenn wir ins dabei selber treu bleiben.
Kann es ein ergreifenderes Bild geben, als unser Volk im Kriege zu betrachten, wie es sich abmüht und plagt, wie es stumm und fast ohne Klagen alles Leid auf sich nimmt, wie seine Arbeiter in den Fabriken und Bergwerken schaffen und werken, seine Frauen ihre Kinder unter Schmerzen tragen und zur Welt bringen, seine Soldaten an den Fronten in der Verteidigung und im Angriff über sich selbst hinauswachsen und sie alle voll gläubigen Vertrauens auch gerade in den kritischen Stunden auf den Führer schauen, dem sie ihr Schicksal und ihre Zukunft in die Hand gelegt haben? Ferne sei es von mir, das Kriegsjahr 1944 zu tadeln oder zu beklagen.
Es hat uns in eine harte Schule genommen, uns geschunden und gepeinigt, aber auch zu unserem wahren Selbst zurückgeführt. Das deutsche Volk ist ihm nichts schuldig geblieben. Es war das Jahr unserer Bewährung; aber an seinem Ende sieht der Triumph unserer Zähigkeit.
Wir werden wieder unsere alte Kraft zu zeigen und zu beweisen haben, und unsere Feinde mögen sich vorsehen, dass ihre Prahlereien nicht ins Gegenteil Umschlägen. Der Krieg entscheidet sich immer erst in der letzten Runde. Und wenn man in London, Washington und Moskau glaubt, dass wir dabei nichts mehr mitzureden haben würden, so wird man diese Meinung, wie so viele über uns, von Grund auf revidieren müssen. Wir brauchen nur die jüngsten Ereignisse auf den Schlachtfeldern als Beweis dafür anzuführen. Sie kommen zwar für die Feindseite überraschend, aber das soll nicht heißen, dass sie von unserer Seite nicht vorbereitet worden wären. Man hatte uns eben im Lager unserer Gegner nichts mehr zugetraut und muss nun umlernen und wird in Zukunft noch in vielem umzulernen gezwungen sein. Aber das ist nicht unsere, sondern Sache unserer Feinde. Die Söhne ihrer Völker haben die Irrtümer ihrer Führungen mit ihrem Blut und Leben zu bezahlen, und zwar solange, bis diese einsehen werden, dass das deutsche Volk nicht zu schlagen und damit zum Sieg bestimmt ist.
Was soll ich zu seinem Ruhme sagen, da es selbst in diesen Jahren eines erbitterten Kampfes um sein Dasein die Geschichte seines Ruhmes in das Buch der Historie einträgt! Was bedeutet das menschliche Wort seinem heroischen Leben gegenüber! Und wenn mir die Sprache unserer großen Dichter und Denker zur Verfügung stände, sie würde nicht ausreichen, all das zu umschreiben, was wir im vergangenen Jahr an Leid erlitten, an Kummer getragen, an Sorge empfunden, an Mut erhärtet, an Gläubigkeit gezeigt und an Treue bewiesen haben.
Mit diesen Tugenden ausgestattet, betreten wir das neue Jahr. Es wird uns bereitfinden. Keine Sekunde wollen wir schwanken oder mutlos sein. Wie wir das alte Jahr bezwangen, so werden wir des neuen Herrn werden. Was es uns auch bringen mag, wir sind darauf vorbereitet. In seinem dunklen Geheimnis liegt noch alles verborgen, was wir von ihm glauben erwarten zu dürfen, was wir wünschen und worauf wir vertrauen. Wir werden fest auf unseren Beinen stehen bleiben und um uns schlagen, wo sich eine Gelegenheit dazu bietet. Der Feind soll das Wissen, damit er sich keinen falschen Hoffnungen hingibt.
Das deutsche Volk wird erst dann seine Waffen senken, wenn es den Steg sicher in der Hand hält, nicht eine Sekunde früher. Sosehr wir den Frieden lieben, es wird und muss ein siegreicher Frieden werden, dessen wir uns niemals zu schämen brauchen. Das ist unser unverrückbarer Entschluss. Für dieses Ziel gilt es die Kräfte der Nation zu sammeln und geschlossen zum Einsatz zu bringen.
Wir sind wieder aktiv geworden, und zwar auf allen Gebieten der allgemeinen Kriegführung. Eine neue große Anstrengung unseres Volkes hat bewiesen, was wir erreichen können, wenn wir dem Feind hart auf den Fersen bleiben und uns durch sehe prahlerischen Redensarten nicht aus der Ruhe bringen lassen.
Der Führer hat uns in den vergangenen vier Monaten gezeigt, wie man schweigend und verbissen an einem großen Plan arbeitet und ihn dann plötzlich und überraschend aufs Schlachtfeld trägt. Das muss uns allen ein Beispiel sein. Er kann mit Recht von der Nation erwarten, dass sie auch in den kommenden Stürmen des Krieges gelassen und selbstsicher den Ereignissen entgegentritt, um sie zu meistern. Er ist uns allen das Vorbild eines kämpferischen Lebens, das Mut mit Einsicht. Kraft mit Gewandtheit und Großzügigkeit der Planung mit einem spartanischen persönlichen Stil verbindet. Diesem Vorbild muss das ganze Volk nacheifern.
Es hat das Glück in diesem satanischen Ringen einen Führer zu besitzen, der über den Dingen steht und sie deshalb am Ende immer zum Guten wenden wird. Es muss dieses Glück ausnutzen, denn das Reich konnte sich nicht allzu oft in seiner Geschichte eines solchen erfreuen.
Was dieser Krieg noch von uns fordern mag, müssen wir auf uns nehmen; aber wir werden dafür den doppelten und dreifachen Lohn davontragen. Nach ihm wird eine neue Blütezeit des Deutschtums anbrechen, wie sie die Geschichte noch nicht gesehen hat. Dahin haben wir den Weg freizulegen. In diesem Sinne gelten meine innigsten Wünsche zum Jahreswechsel dem Führer und seinem Volke. Beide sind heute eine einzige deutsche Einheit.
Ein Volk von Arbeitern, Bauern und Kriegern, und an seiner Spitze ein Führer, der sein Volk nicht nur führt, sondern auch verkörpert. Unsere Feinde werden sich an dieser Einheit die Zähne ausbeißen. Im Feuer des Krieges wurde sie geschweißt und von den Hammerschlägen des Schicksals gehärtet. Sie wird die Zeit überdauern. Ich grüße den Führer und sein Volk.
Gebe Gott dem Führer wie bisher Gesundheit und eine gesegnete Hand, dem Volke Einsicht und Kraft, damit es vom Schicksal des Krieges immer bereitgefunden wird, dann braucht uns nicht bange um unsere Zukunft tu sein. Dann wird das neue Jahr für uns ein Übergang zu einer neuen Zeit werden. Diese neue Zeit aber wird uns gehören, weil wir sie allein verdient haben. Sie wird der Lohn für all unsere Leiden und Opfer sein. In ihr wird sich dann auch der tiefe und letzte Sinn dieses Krieges offenbaren, der uns heute vielfach noch verborgen bleibt. Ihm in den Wirren dieser Weltenwende zu dienen, ist unsere höchste Pflicht, aber auch unser stolzestes Recht. Fest davon überzeugt und ebenso fest dazu entschlossen, betreten wir das vor uns liegende neue Kampf- und Kriegsjahr. Es wird das deutsche Volk und seine Führung stets auf der Höhe der Situation finden.