The following events occurred in August 1944:
August 1, 1944 (Tuesday) The Polish resistance Home Army began the Warsaw Uprising against Nazi occupation forces. The Battle of Tinian ended in American victory. The Philadelphia transit strike began. Sergio Osmeña became 4th President of the Philippines. Scientists in the United Kingdom said that DDT had been found to act as an anti-malarial insecticide. The biographical film Wilson starring Alexander Knox as the 28th President of the United States Woodrow Wilson was released. Anne Frank makes her last diary entry. Born: Yury Romanenko, cosmonaut, in Orenburg Oblast, USSR Died: Manuel L. Quezon, 65, President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his death
August 2, 1944 (Wednesday) The Germans launched 316 V-1 flying bombs at London, the highest single-day total yet. Over 100 reached the capital, hitting Tower Bridge and doing great damage to the armament factories on the outskirts. The primary stage of the Lublin–Brest Offensive concluded with Soviet objectives met. Turkey broke off diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany. The American destroyer escort Fiske was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean by German submarine U-804. SS authorities in Auschwitz-Birkenau murdered the last residents (just under 3,000) of the so-called Gypsy family camp. Born: Jim Capaldi, drummer, singer, songwriter and co-founder of the rock band Traffic, in Evesham, England (d. 2005) Died: Kakuji Kakuta, 53, Japanese admiral (probable suicide on Tinian)
August 3, 1944 (Thursday) The Siege of Myitkyina in Burma ended in Allied victory. The British destroyer Quorn was sunk off Normandy during a heavy attack by German ships and aircraft. The Soviet Union and Lebanon established diplomatic relations with each other. The Education Act 1944 received Royal Assent in the United Kingdom.
August 4, 1944 (Friday) German forces retreated from Florence after blowing up the city's medieval bridges overnight to effectively cut the city in two. Only the Ponte Vecchio was spared. Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim became 6th President of Finland after Risto Ryti resigned. German submarine U-671 was sunk by British warships in the English Channel. The Japanese destroyer Matsu was shelled and sunk northwest of Chichijima by American warships. In Amsterdam, Anne Frank, her family and the others hiding in the Secret Annex at Prisengracht 263 were discovered and arrested. Born: Jonas Falk, actor, in Örgryte, Sweden (d. 2010) Richard Belzer, stand-up comedian and actor, in Bridgeport, Connecticut (d. 2023) William Frankfather, actor, in Kermit, Texas (d. 1998) Orhan Gencebay, musician, in Samsun, Turkey Died: Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński, 23, Polish poet and Home Army soldier (killed in action)
August 5, 1944 (Saturday) The Cowra breakout occurred when over 1,100 Japanese prisoners of war attempted to escape from a POW camp near Cowra in New South Wales, Australia. Four Australian soldiers and 231 Japanese were killed, but hundreds managed to escape although they would all be recaptured within ten days. The four-day Wola massacre began when German troops and collaborationist forces started systematically killing between 40,000 and 50,000 people in the Wola district of Warsaw during the Uprising. More than 300 Jewish refugees perished when the Turkish motor schooner Mefküre was sunk in the Black Sea by shellfire from the Soviet submarine Shch-215. "Swinging on a Star" by Bing Crosby went to #1 on the Billboard singles charts.
August 6, 1944 (Sunday) The Soviets began the Osovets Offensive as part of the final phase of Operation Bagration. German submarines U-471, U-952 and U-969 were sunk at Toulon during an American air raid. German submarine U-736 was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by depth charges from the frigate HMS Loch Killin. The Philadelphia transit strike was broken as a result of U.S. military intervention under the Smith–Connally Act.
August 7, 1944 (Monday) Operation Bluecoat ended in Allied victory. The Battle for Brest began in Brittany, France. The Japanese cruiser Nagara was torpedoed and sunk off the Amakusa Islands by the American submarine Croaker. Born: John Glover, actor, in Salisbury, Maryland Robert Mueller, American civil servant and sixth Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (d. 2026)
August 8, 1944 (Tuesday) The Defense of Hengyang ended in the Second Sino-Japanese War with the Japanese capture of Hengyang. The Damasta sabotage occurred near the Cretan village of Damasta. Greek resistance fighters led by British Special Operations Executive Officer W. Stanley Moss attacked Axis occupation forces and killed 35 Germans and 10 Italians. The British and American governments signed the Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement in Washington. The Japanese converted troopship Kotobuki Maru (formerly the Italian ocean liner Conte Verde) was sunk in Shanghai by an American B-24 of the 373rd Bomb Squadron. The Canadian corvette HMCS Regina was torpedoed and sunk north of Trevose Head by German submarine U-667. The Junkers Ju 287 made its first flight. Born: Brooke Bundy, actress, in New York City Died: Michael Wittmann, 30, German Waffen-SS tank commander (killed in action in Normandy)
August 9, 1944 (Wednesday) The Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive ended with a ceasefire. The Battle of Studzianki began in Poland. Douglas MacArthur received a letter from President Roosevelt noting that he supported the plan that MacArthur recommended to make the Philippines the next priority in the Pacific. SS and police units began liquidating the Łódź Ghetto. From this day through August 28 more than 60,000 Jews and an undetermined number of Roma were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The first poster depicting Smokey Bear, a mascot created to educate the American public about the dangers of forest fires, was released. In the Ordinance of 9 August 1944, the French Provisional Government restored the Republic and the rule of law in metropolitan France and nullified the laws of the Vichy regime. The Preston Sturges-directed satirical comedy-drama film Hail the Conquering Hero starring Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines and William Demarest was released. Born: Sam Elliott, actor, in Sacramento, California
August 10, 1944 (Thursday) The Battle of Narva ended in a German defensive victory on the Eastern Front. The Battle of Tannenberg Line ended in tactical German victory. The Battle of Guam ended in American victory. The Soviets began the Tartu Offensive. German submarine U-608 was scuttled after being attacked and damaged in the Bay of Biscay by a B24 of No. 53 Squadron RAF and by the British sloop Wren. Died: Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, 39, German aristocrat, lawyer and conspirator in the 20 July plot (executed by the Nazis)
August 11, 1944 (Friday) The Soviet 3rd Baltic Front captured Pechory. German submarine U-385 was depth charged and sunk in the Bay of Biscay by a Short Sunderland of No. 461 Squadron RAAF and by the British sloop Starling. German submarine U-967 was scuttled at Toulon. The German steamship Giuseppe Dormio, sailing from Pola to Rijeka, struck a mine in the Vela vrata strait northeast of Cape Mašnjak and approximately two hundred meters south of the Brestova–Porozina ferry route around 03:30 local time and sank; six people were killed. Born: Ian McDiarmid, actor and director, in Carnoustie, Scotland; Frederick W. Smith, founder and CEO of FedEx, in Marks, Mississippi Died: Hideyoshi Obata, 54, Japanese general (committed seppuku during the Battle of Guam)
August 12, 1944 (Saturday) The Battle of the Falaise Pocket began. Italian campaign (World War II): The Allies captured Florence. Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre: The Waffen-SS and Black Brigades paramilitaries murdered about 560 civilians and refugees (including more than 100 children) in the Italian village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema, burned their bodies, and left their houses semi-derelict. The Wola massacre around Warsaw ended. A Special Air Service mission codenamed Operation Loyton began in the Vosges department of France. In the opening phase, a small advance party parachuted into the Vosges Mountains with the objective of contacting the local French Resistance and conducting a reconnaissance of the area. Operation Pluto: The world's first undersea oil pipeline was laid between England and France. German submarine U-198 was sunk in the Indian Ocean near the Seychelles by depth charges from Allied warships. Died: Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., 29, U.S. Navy lieutenant and eldest son of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (killed over Blythburgh, England when his PB4Y-1 Liberator's explosive detonated prematurely); Suzanne Spaak, 39, Belgian member of the French Resistance (executed by the Gestapo)
August 13, 1944 (Sunday) In the Tartu Offensive, the Soviet 3rd Baltic Front captured Võru and Valga. The Battle of Ilomantsi ended in Finnish victory. The American submarine Flier struck a mine and sank in the Balabac Strait. German submarine U-270 was depth charged and sunk in the Bay of Biscay by a Short Sunderland of No. 461 Squadron RAAF. Born: Kevin Tighe, actor, in Los Angeles, California
August 14, 1944 (Monday) The Osovets Offensive officially ended with the completion of Soviet objectives. Canadian and Polish troops began Operation Tractable, the final offensive of the Battle of Normandy. The Fort Lawton Riot began at Fort Lawton in Seattle. An Italian prisoner of war was killed during a violent conflict between American soldiers and Italian POWs. German submarine U-618 was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by British ships and aircraft.
August 15, 1944 (Tuesday) Allied forces began Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France. German submarine U-741 was depth charged and sunk off Le Havre by the American destroyer Somers. Born: Gianfranco Ferré, fashion designer, in Legnano, Italy (d. 2007); Sylvie Vartan, singer and actress, in Iskrets, Kingdom of Bulgaria
August 16, 1944 (Wednesday) The Battle of Studzianki ended in Soviet-Polish victory. The Battle of Guilin–Liuzhou began in the Second Sino-Japanese War. American forces entered Chartres. Walter Model replaced Günther von Kluge as Oberbefehlshaber West. German forces launched Operation Doppelkopf, a counter-offensive on the Eastern Front. The Roosevelt Administration froze Argentina's gold assets in the U.S. as a consequence of the Argentinian government's failure to fully cooperate in the war against the Axis powers.
August 17, 1944 (Thursday) In the Pacific, the Battle of Biak ended in Allied victory. During the Battle of the Falaise Pocket, the First Canadian Army captured the ruined town of Falaise itself.Davidson and Manning, p. 208. VIII Corps of the Third United States Army took Saint-Malo when the German-held fortress there surrendered after enduring two weeks of bombing and shelling. Two Soviet infantry battalions under Georgy Gubkin and Pavel Yurgin reached part of the River Scheshule. Some of them were sent to raise the Red Flag on the other bank, with Sergeant Alexander Belov doing the actual raising; the Soviets had now crossed into East Prussia and thus Germany proper.World War Two. “Week 260 - Hitler Has a Bad Day - WW2 - August 19 - 1944.” YouTube, 19 Aug. 2023, https://youtube.com/watch?v=80kk1u4bJhU?&t=1374.
August 18, 1944 (Friday) The German 7th Army retreated across the Orne, leaving 18,000 men behind to be captured. The Allies closed the Falaise Gap, trapping German forces to the north and west.Davidson and Manning, p. 209. The Red Cross entered Drancy internment camp one day after its abandonment by German forces. 500 survivors were liberated. The French battleship Strasbourg and cruiser La Galissonnière were sunk at Toulon in an American air raid. German submarines U-107 and U-621 were both sunk in the Bay of Biscay by Allied ships and aircraft. U-129 was scuttled at Lorient that same day.