What Happened in 1944

Osovets Offensive

The offensive commenced after the 2nd Belorussian Front had successfully taken Grodno and Bialystok in the Belostock Offensive. The Front was... Read more

Anne Frank and her Family are Transported to Westerbork Concentration Camp

On the morning of 4 August 1944, the Achterhuis was stormed by the German Security Police (Grüne Polizei) following a tip-off from an informer who... Read more

Germans Launch Counterattack Near American Positions Near Mortain, France

Operation Lüttich was a codename given to a German counterattack during the Battle of Normandy, which took place around the American positions near... Read more

Imperial Japanese Army Captures Hengyang

The Battle of Hengyang was the longest defense of a single city of the entire Second Sino-Japanese War. When Changsha fell to the Imperial Japanese... Read more

Operation Totalize

Operation Totalize (also referred to as "Operation Totalise" in some more recent British sources) was an offensive launched by Allied troops of the... Read more

Intense Fighting Breaks Out in Warsaw's Old Town During the Warsaw Uprising

Despite the loss of Wola, the Polish resistance stiffened. Zośka and Wacek battalions managed to capture the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto and... Read more

"Hail The Conquering Hero" Is Released

Hail the Conquering Hero (1944) is a satirical comedy/drama written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines and... Read more

Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. is Killed While Serving in World War 2

Operation Aphrodite was a series of bombing runs by explosive-laden aircraft piloted by a skeleton crew who would parachute from the aircraft... Read more

Operation Tractable

Operation Tractable was the final Canadian–Polish offensive to take place during the Battle of Normandy. Its aim was to capture the strategically... Read more

Allied Forces Invade Southern France through Operation Dragoon

The assault troops were formed of three American divisions of the VI Corps, reinforced with the French 5th Armoured Division, all under the command... Read more

Battle of Guilin–Liuzhou

The Battle of Guilin–Liuzhou (simplified Chinese: 桂柳会战; traditional Chinese: 桂柳會戰; pinyin: Gùilǐu Huìzhàn), also known as the Battle of Guiliu was... Read more

Jassy–Kishinev Offensive (August 1944) (Battle of Romania)

The Jassy-Kishinev Operation (Russian: Ясско-кишинёвская стратегическая наступательная операция, translation: Jassy-Kishinev Strategic Offensive... Read more

German Position in Normandy Collapses after Fierce Fighting at Hill 262

Hill 262 or Mont Ormel ridge, nicknamed The Mace (elevation 262 metres (860 ft)), was the location of a pivotal engagement fought as part of the... Read more

Freckleton Air Disaster

Tragedy struck at Freckleton, Lancashire, on August 23, 1944, when an American B-24 bomber on a test flight overshot the runway while trying to... Read more

Gothic Line Offensive

The Gothic Line (Italian: Linea Gotica) formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II... Read more

Liberation of Paris

The Liberation of Paris (also known as Battle for Paris) took place during World War II from August 19, 1944 until the surrender of the occupying... Read more

Slovak National Uprising Begins

The Slovak National Uprising (Slovak: Slovenské národné povstanie, abbreviated SNP) or 1944 Uprising was an armed insurrection organized by the... Read more

Herzogenbusch Concentration Camp is Liberated by the 4th Canadian Armored Division and the 96th Battery of the 5th Anti-Tank Division

Due to hunger, sickness and abuse at least 749 children, women and men died in the concentration camp. 329 of them were executed at the execution... Read more

Canadian Forces Retake Dieppe Unopposed in Operation Fusilade

The World War II Operation Fusilade, was the planned set piece assault on the French port of Dieppe, by the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. In the... Read more

George H.W. Bush is Shot Down in the Pacific Ocean

He was assigned to Torpedo Squadron (VT-51) as the photographic officer in September 1943. The following year, his squadron was based on the USS... Read more

Anne Frank is Transported from Westerbork to Auschwitz Concentration Camp

On September 3, the group was deported on what would be the last transport from Westerbork to the Auschwitz concentration camp, and arrived after a... Read more

Operation Tiderace

Operation Tiderace commenced when Mountbatten ordered Allied troops to set sail from Trincomalee and Rangoon on 31 August for Singapore. The fleet... Read more

"Double Indemnity" Is Released

Double Indemnity (1944) is an American film noir starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson. The film was directed by Billy... Read more

First Use of V-2 Rocket on London by German Forces through the Vergeltungswaffe Offensive

Vergeltungswaffen (English: retaliatory weapons, reprisal weapons, vengeance weapons) was a particular set of Wunderwaffen (English: superweapons)... Read more

Allied Forces Launch Assault on Le Havre to begin Operation Astonia

Operation Astonia was a battle fought during the Siegfried Line Campaign of World War II from 10 September 1944 to 12 September 1944. The Allied... Read more