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