The Pittsburgh Press (December 31, 1944)
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.