12 January 1944Birth of Joseph William FrazierJoseph William Frazier
Birth of Joseph William Frazier
Historical records for United States of America in 1944, rendered directly from the World History Database and ordered by month, day and event.
Birth of Joseph William Frazier
The Allies agree the plans for D-Day
Appointed Commander of the 21st Bomber Command
Appointed Commander of the 21st Bomber Command to launch raids on Japan
Lands behind the German lines at Anzio, code named Operation Shingle
The directive appointing Eisenhower Supreme Allied Commander for Overlord is issued
The directive appointing Eisenhower Supreme Allied Commander for Overlord is issued. Appointed Supreme Allied Commander
The directive appointing Eisenhower Supreme Allied Commander for Overlord is issued. Appointed Supreme Allied Commander
Decides to attack through Cisterna & Camoleone but is pushed back
Appointed Chief of General Staff
Appointed Chief of General Staff
Groves and Oppenheimer decide to plan a full-scale fission-bomb test, and Groves authorises construction of the massive steel vessel called Jumbo.
Groves orders a change in the gaseous-diffusion barrier approach after continuing failures to produce a suitable barrier for K-25.
Arrives in England to assume duties as Supreme Allied Commander of Operation Overlord
Marguerite withdrew Lee from the children's home and moved with him to a house on Victor Street in Dallas.
Kistiakowsky becomes a full-time Los Alamos staff member and takes leadership of the rapidly expanding implosion effort from Neddermeyer.
The Germans drive a wedge between the British & American sectors, Lucas is dismissed
Appointed Commander of 6th Corps
Appointed Commander of 6th Corps
Nearly 17 sqr miles of Tokyo are raised to the ground
An air attack & military bombardment destroys the town of Monte Cassino
Nearly 19 sqr miles of Tokyo are raised to the ground
US D-Day beach landing training exercise (Operation Beaver) at Slapton Sands, Devon, demonstrate a dangerous lack of coordination between units
US D-Day beach landing training exercise (Operation Beaver) at Slapton Sands, Devon, demonstrate a dangerous lack of coordination between units
Appointed Commander of the Twentieth US Air Force
Appointed Commander of the Twentieth US Air Force
Montgomery presents his strategy for the invasion at St Pauls School, a ninety day battle, ending when all the forces reach the Seine, pivoting on an Allied-held Caen, with British and Canadian armies forming a shoulder & US armies wheeling right
Birth of Anthony Edward Visconti, later record producer, arranger, musician and major glam rock collaborator.
Birth of Anthony Visconti. Birth of Anthony Edward Visconti
German torpedo boats nearly discover a mock landing but all 600 soldiers are drowned
Monsanto's Dayton project begins supplying polonium for neutron-initiator research at Los Alamos.
In order to try & break the deadlock the area is swamped with Allied troops
The forces at Anzio break out & link up with the US 5th Army
Birth of Sondra Locke
A successful test of the exploding-bridgewire detonator demonstrates a way to fire many implosion detonators with the required simultaneity.
Fermi at Los Alamos tests the world's third reactor, LOPO, the first aqueous homogeneous reactor, and the first fueled by enriched uranium
Tests an enriched-uranium aqueous homogeneous reactor.
Fermi at Los Alamos tests the world's third reactor, LOPO, the first aqueous homogeneous reactor, and the first fueled by enriched uranium
Fermi at Los Alamos tests the world's third reactor, LOPO, the first aqueous homogeneous reactor, and the first fueled by enriched uranium
The Allied invasion force of 150,000 departs from England on 5,300 ships
Leads the first U.S. boarding party onto U-505 and secures sensitive cipher material, including Enigma equipment.
Commands the hunter-killer group that captures U-505 with Enigma machines and current codebooks intact.
Leads the salvage effort that keeps U-505 afloat, preserving captured Enigma machines and codebooks for intelligence exploitation.
The weather in the Channel deteriorates & the Allied invasion force is recalled
Postpones Operation Overlord, due 5th June, because of bad weather
Railway yards are bombed in Bangkok
Writes a brief statement accepting personal responsibility in case the Normandy landings fail.
3 Airbourne Divisions land behind enemy lines at St Mere-Eglise & Caen
176,000 men & 20,000 vehicles are to be landed in 2 days
Gives the go ahead for Operation Overlord for 6th June
Captures the Islands of St Marcouf off Utah beach
Issues his Order of the Day to Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen as the Normandy invasion begins.
Lands the 2nd British Army from the river Orme to St-Vaast-La-Hogue
The US Army succesfully captrures Omah & Utah beaches
Commands the US 7th Army Corps on Utah beach
The Allies land 130,000 men & 22,000 parachutists & lose 9,500 killed or wounded. The Allied landings take place with 487,653 men & 89,728 making it ashore. Plans & commands the Allied capture of Germany from D-Day
Commands the US 5th Army Corps on Omaha beach
Commands the ships of the Western Task force which lands forces on Utah & Omaha
Commands a landing of paratroopers to capture a bridgehead on the Merderet
Lands on Omaha Beach, grandson of the late President
Son of the late President, the only General to land with the 1st wave. Leads the 1st assault, Eighth Regimental Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division
Commands a landing of paratroopers to capture a bridgehead on the Merderet
Omar Bradleys intention was to take advantage of the German preoccupation with British and Canadian activity around the town of Caen, and punch through the German defenses penning in his troops while his opponent was distracted and unbalanced
Commands paratroopers who land on the eastern side of the Cotentin Peninsular only
The US 5th Corps capture Isigny on the way to uniting the Utah & Omaha
Leads the 9th Div ashore at Utah Beach
Carentan is captured, uniting all the American forces
Leads the 9th Div towards Cherbourg
The 1st B-29 raid on the Japanese mainland
The Cotentin Peninsular is sealed isolating 4 German Divisions & the port of Cherbourg. The Americans capture Barneville
An attack of St Lo is launched but is slowed down by the Normandy countryside, bocage
Groves orders rapid construction of the S-50 thermal-diffusion plant at Oak Ridge on an exceptionally compressed schedule.
Launches an attack on Cherbourg
The US forces arrive at the hills overlooking Cherbourg
The GI Bill provides education, housing and unemployment benefits to returning veterans.
The US Army captures the Fort du Roule, the key to the defences of Cherbourg
Cherbourg falls to the Allies
Bayeux became a strategic transit and support centre for Eisenhower's Allied armies.
While serving with General Thrasher, Shaw helped support organizational and supply work connected with the D-Day invasion.
Instructions to construct bogus airfields to be bombed by the Allies are decrypted
During Operation Overlord, subordinate to Bradley as Deputy Commander of the First Army
Morgenthau chairs negotiations creating the IMF and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Captures La-Haye-du-Puits
Churchill asks Eisenhower to cancel Dragoon in order to break the deadllock at Caen
Churchill asks Eisenhower to cancel Dragoon in order to break the deadllock at Caen
Oppenheimer informs the Los Alamos staff that reactor plutonium's neutron background makes the plutonium gun design impractical and implosion must become the priority.
Patton arrives in Normandy
Proposes meeting Stalin and Churchill in Scotland to coordinate the next stage of Allied strategy.
To gain good terrain for Operation Cobra, Bradley and Collins conceived a plan to push forward to the Saint-L“-Periers road, along which VII and VIII Corps were securing jumping-off positions. The American 29th and 35th Infantry Divisions managed to gain the vital heights of Saint-Lo, driving back General der Fallschirmtruppen Eugen Meindls II Parachute Corps
Forced to postpone Operation Cobra due to heavy rainfall
Operation Cobra is postponed for a 2nd time
The US advances across St Lo to Periers Road
Gives the go ahead for Operation Cobra
After the one-day postponement, Cobra got underway at 09:38 on 25 July, when around 600 Allied fighter-bombers attacked strongpoints and enemy artillery along a 300 yd (270 m)-wide strip of ground located in the St. Lo area
2,500 bombers from the Eighth & 9th Air Forces open a gap west of St Lo
Operation Cobra commenced on 25 July with a concentrated aerial bombardment from thousands of Allied aircraft
To help Patton to break out of Avranches & drive into Brittany. Clearing ports such as Lorient & Brest
Clearing ports such as Lorient & Brest
Notified of the counterattack in advance through signals intercepted via Ultra radio intercepts and deciphering and thus prepared his troops and their commanders to defeat this counteroffensive and to encircle as much of the Wehrmacht force as possible
Notified of the counterattack in advance through signals intercepted via Ultra radio intercepts and deciphering and thus prepared his troops and their commanders to defeat this counteroffensive and to encircle as much of the Wehrmacht force as possible
Pushes Patton through a gap in the German defence toward Avranches
By 27 July most organized resistance had been overcome, and VII and VIII Corps were advancing rapidly, isolating the Cotentin peninsula
Tells Stalin he hopes the three Allied leaders can meet as early as possible.
Captures Coutance
Appointed Commander of the Eighth Corps
Appointed Commander of the Eighth Corps
By 28 July, the German defenses across the US front had largely collapsed under the full weight of VII and VIII Corps advance, and resistance was disorganised and patchy
Avranches is captured by Patton
Arrives at Avranches
Captures Granville
By 31 July, XIX Corps had destroyed the last forces opposing the First Army, and Bradleys troops were finally freed from the bocage
By 31 July, XIX Corps had destroyed the last forces opposing the First Army, and Bradleys troops were finally freed from the bocage
Tibbets begins organising the 509th Composite Group at Wendover Field for the eventual combat delivery of atomic bombs.
Eisenhower's command relied on Bayeux as an undamaged link between the beaches and the fighting front.
Patton captures Avranches
Appointed Commander of the 3rd Army
Appointed Commander of the 3rd Army
Appointed Commander of the First Army
Appointed Commander of the US First Army
Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges assumed command of the First Army and Bradley was promoted to overall command of both armies, named Twelfth Army Group
Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges assumed command of the First Army and Bradley was promoted to overall command of both armies, named Twelfth Army Group
Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges assumed command of the First Army and Bradley was promoted to overall command of both armies, named Twelfth Army Group
Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges assumed command of the First Army and Bradley was promoted to overall command of both armies, named Twelfth Army Group
Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges assumed command of the First Army and Bradley was promoted to overall command of both armies, named Twelfth Army Group
Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges assumed command of the First Army and Bradley was promoted to overall command of both armies, named Twelfth Army Group
Orders Patton to clear Brittany with a "minimum forces"
Patton captures Rennes
Authorizes Patton to outflank the Germans at Caen
Authorizes Patton to turn into the Orleans gap toward the Seine & Paris
An attempt to outflank the Germans at Caen
Authorised by Bradley to turn into the Orleans gap toward the Seine & Paris
The town of Falaise becomes a major objective of Commonwealth forces, since its capture would cut off virtually all of Generalfeldmarschall Gunther von Kluges Army Group B
Operation Luttich had been defeated by concerted, large-scale fighter-bomber air strikes against the German Panzers and trucks & in the process, forces of the German 7th Army became further enveloped by the Allied advance out of Normandy
The town of Falaise becomes a major objective of Commonwealth forces, since its capture would cut off virtually all of Generalfeldmarschall Gunther von Kluges Army Group B
Orders Patton to Le Mans & the British to Falaise. Launched by Bradley to totally defeat the Germans in Normandy
Troops of the newly activated 3rd United States Army captured the city of Le Mans, formerly the German 7th Armys headquarters
Orders Patton to create a "short hook" from Le Mans to Falaise to trap the Germans
Ordered by Bradley to create a "short hook" from Le Mans to Falaise
Troops of the newly activated 3rd United States Army captured the city of Le Mans, formerly the German 7th Armys headquarters
Turns the 5th & Free French 2nd northward to Le Mans
Turns the 5th & Free French 2nd northward to Le Mans
Reaches Argentan where US & Anglo-Canadians are supposed to meet but are 25 miles away
The "Falaise Pocket" forms as a French patrol enters Argentan
The "Falaise Pocket" forms as a French patrol enters Argentan
Pattons 3rd Army was at Falaise & Montgomerys 2First Army Group at Argentan. Patton is ordered to halt, Montgomery takes 2 weeks to close the gap
The "Falaise Pocket" forms as a French patrol enters Argentan
Pattons 3rd Army was at Falaise & Montgomerys 2First Army Group at Argentan
Appointed Commander of the 7th Army
Appointed Commander of the 7th Army
Commands an invasion of Southern France reaching the Vosges within 4 weeks
Mantes is captured & the Seine crossed, Patton hopes to head directly for Germany
The US, Britain, Russia and China open the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in Washington, DC, laying the foundation for the establishment of the UN
The US, Britain, Russia and China open the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in Washington, DC, laying the foundation for the establishment of the UN
Poles & Americans seal the Falaise pocket officially ending the Normandy Campaign
Poles & Americans seal the Falaise pocket officially ending the Normandy Campaign
Orders the Allied attack on Paris
After the capture of Paris Woodrun estimates that the war will be over by October
The Army Air Forces begins modifying seventeen B-29 aircraft at Omaha for combat delivery of atomic weapons.
Appointed Commander of XII Corps
Appointed Commander of XII Corps
Commander of First US Army, succeeds Bradley
Operation Cobra, together with concurrent offensives by the Second British and First Canadian Armies, was decisive in securing an Allied victory in the Normandy Campaign
Commander of First US Army, succeeds Bradley
Helps setup a "pocket" to capture Germans escaping from Normandy. Diverted by Patton to link up with the Anglo-Canadians at Argentan
Birch takes charge of the uranium gun-weapon programme that will produce the Little Boy design.
Assumes direct operational command of Allied ground forces in northwest Europe as the campaign advances beyond Normandy.
Commands the division that liberates Maastricht from German occupation.
Directs Old Hickory troops advancing across the southern Netherlands.
The cause of B Reactor's unexpected shutdown is identified as xenon-135, a powerful neutron absorber produced during fission.
General Hodgess First Army is ordered to breakthrough the front near the German city of Aachen
The Germans are able to hold the region until they launched their final major, last-ditch offensive on the Western Front, into the Ardennes
Pattons 3rd Army is given the task of occupying the French region of Lorraine, General Hodgess First Army is ordered to breakthrough the front near the German city of Aachen
General Hodgess First Army is ordered to breakthrough the front near the German city of Aachen
Pattons 3rd Army is given the task of occupying the French region of Lorraine, General Hodgess First Army is ordered to breakthrough the front near the German city of Aachen. Decides the next target would be the occupation of the Ruhr, the heartland of Germany's industrial capabilities
General Hodgess First Army is ordered to breakthrough the front near the German city of Aachen
Pattons 3rd Army is given the task of occupying the French region of Lorraine
Arrives in England to organize a US tactical air force in the United Kingdom
Breaches the Siegfred Line
Pattons 3rd Army is given the task of occupying the French region of Lorraine, General Hodgess First Army is ordered to breakthrough the front near the German city of Aachen
Pattons 3rd Army is given the task of occupying the French region of Lorraine
The Germans are able to hold the region until they launched their final major, last-ditch offensive on the Western Front, into the Ardennes
Joins up with Hodges First Army
Closes in on Metz
The US First Army enters the outskirts of Aachen
The US First Army enters the outskirts of Aachen
Krueger commands the Sixth Army as American ground forces land on Leyte and begin the campaign to retake the central Philippines.
MacArthur lands on Leyte after the initial assault and publicly marks the return of Allied forces to the Philippines.
Hodges First Army captures Aachen, the 1st breach of the Siegfried Line
The US 1st & 30th divisions of infantry capture Aachen
Hodges First Army captures Aachen, the 1st breach of the Siegfried Line
Claggett commands USS Dace when the submarine torpedoes and sinks the Japanese heavy cruiser Maya.
McClintock commands USS Darter when the submarine sinks Atago and severely damages Takao in the Palawan Passage.
Suggests Malta, Athens or Cyprus as alternatives to a meeting on the Soviet Black Sea coast.
Halsey takes the Third Fleet north toward Ozawa's carrier force, leaving San Bernardino Strait uncovered.
Oldendorf deploys the Seventh Fleet battle line that crosses Nishimura's advance and destroys most of the Japanese Southern Force.
Halsey's Third Fleet attacks Ozawa's Northern Force and destroys all four Japanese carriers in the decoy force.
Sprague commands Taffy 3 as its escort carriers and screen resist Kurita's much stronger Center Force.
Kinkaid commands the Seventh Fleet as its forces fight at Surigao Strait and off Samar while protecting the Leyte landings.
Sprague commands Taffy 1, one of the Seventh Fleet escort-carrier groups supporting the Leyte operation.
Stump commands Taffy 2, whose aircraft repeatedly attack Kurita's Center Force during the Battle off Samar.
Mitscher directs Task Force Thirty-Eight's carrier attacks against Ozawa's Northern Force off Cape Engano.
Evans takes USS Johnston into a torpedo attack against the Japanese Center Force and continues fighting until the destroyer is sunk.
Copeland commands USS Samuel B. Roberts in a close-range attack on Japanese cruisers before the destroyer escort is sunk.
Oppenheimer approves plans to conduct the first full-scale bomb test in the Jornada del Muerto area of the Alamogordo Bombing Range.
Orders destruction of German forces west of the Rhine to establish bridgeheads
Orders destruction of German forces west of the Rhine to establish bridgeheads
Orders the November Offensive which destroys all German forces west of the River Rhine
Kenney directs Fifth Air Force operations supporting the Allied return to the Philippines and the ground campaign on Leyte.
Offers Piraeus, Salonica or Constantinople as alternatives to the difficult Black Sea conference route.
The US 28th Div of V Corps is repulsed at Schmidt
Discusses a democratic post-war China & to reconcile the Communists & Kuomingtang
Wins 21.9 million to Roosevelts 25.6 million votes & loses his own state of New York
Discusses a democratic post-war China & to reconcile the Communists & Kuomingtang
Suggests postponing the Big Three meeting until after his January presidential inauguration.
Proposes a late January or early February meeting while continuing to prefer a Mediterranean location.
Leads the 73rd Wing against the Musashimo engine plant at Tokyo
The Allies capture Strasburg
Relies on secured Middle Eastern routes, including the Suez Canal, for Allied logistics and communications.
Birth of John Densmore
Maintains his broad-front approach for the continuing Allied advance.
Insists that the advance into the Rhine be on a broad front
Represents the principal American army group during the strategy meeting.
Reports on Allied operations advancing from southern France toward Germany.
Meets senior Allied commanders to review operations toward the Rhine.
Coordinates the southern army group's role in the wider Allied strategy.
Supports continued operations by American armies across a broad front.
Identifies Batum or Yalta as possible locations for the forthcoming meeting with Churchill and Stalin.
Captures Metz
Launches an offensive for the Schmidt Dam to stop the Germans flooding the Roer Valley
Attempts to persuade Stalin to travel to a Mediterranean location rather than remain on the Soviet Black Sea coast.
Seeks British coordination before asking Stalin to delay action on recognition of the Lublin Committee.
Death of Glenn Miller, disappears over the Channel
16 Dec-28 Jan, leads the 3rd Army across France & into Germany
16 Dec-28 Jan, leads the 3rd Army across France & into Germany
Hanford's D Reactor reaches criticality with sufficient excess reactivity to overcome fission-product poisoning.
The killing of 80 US GIs by the SS leads Roosevelt to demand an international trial
Holds Bastogne when it is besieged by the Germans
Commands US 101 Airborne Div & Combat Command B US 10th Armoured Division at Bastogne
The Allies are take by surprise, Eisenhower commits the 82nd & 101st Airborne Divs
Arrives with the 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne to check the 5th Panzer Army
Turns 90 degrees north to attack the German southern flank. Halts the 3rd Armys advance into the Saar
Sent as a reinforcement to bolster the northern flank
Promoted to the five-star rank of General of the Army.
Launches an attack on Bastogne
The first full Fat Man bomb assembly is completed for handling and airdrop practice, before nuclear material and final explosive lenses are available.
The defences are breached but the Germans are later repulsed the following day
The Germans breach the defences of Bastogne
The US 4th Armored Division turns the Germans back at Bastogne
The 3rd Army break through Manteufells troops & reach Baston
The 3rd Army break through Manteufells troops & reach Baston
Asks Stalin to leave the question of recognizing the Lublin Committee unresolved until the tripartite meeting.
Successful test of explosive lens for Fat Man
Successful test of explosive lens for Fat Man
Work begins on a precisely timed neutron initiator for the solid-core implosion weapon.
Successful test of explosive lens for Fat Man
Successful test of explosive lens for Fat Man
Successful test of explosive lens for Fat Man
Successful test of explosive lens for Fat Man
Shaw served as aide-de-camp to General Charles Thrasher during the Second World War.
Leads the American attack on the Ardennes, serves under Montgomery
Carries out a plan to bomb the French railway system, despite Churchills opposition
Re-opens the Burma Road into China
Captures Liege & liberates it from the Germans
Captures Morlaix
Captures Nantes
Captures Quimper
Captures St Brieuc
Appointed Commander of the Twelfth Army Group
Appointed Commander of the Twelfth Army Group
Appointed Commander of the First Army
Appointed Commander of the First Army
Appointed Commander of the US First Army
Appointed Commander of the US First Army
Appointed Commander of the Ninth Army
Appointed Commander of the 9th US Airforce
Appointed Commander of the US Tenth Army in the Pacific
Appointed Commander of the US Tenth Army in the Pacific
Participates in the discovery of curium.
Helps discover curium, later named for Pierre and Marie Curie.
Appointed Deputy Commander of the US First Army under General Bradley
General Hodgess First Army is ordered to breakthrough the front near the German city of Aachen. Commander of First US Army, succeeds Bradley. Appointed Deputy Commander of the US First Army under General Bradley
Hodgess troops are the first to reach Paris, France
Marilyn Monroe meets photographer David Conover, who had been sent by the U.S. Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit (FMPU) to the factory to shoot morale-boosting pictures of female workers
Marilyn Monroe meets photographer David Conover, who had been sent by the U.S. Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit (FMPU) to the factory to shoot morale-boosting pictures of female workers
Says it the US & British destiny to rule the post-war world
Stars in, "Jane Eyre"
Leads major engineering work for gaseous-diffusion enrichment.
While working in a factory as part of the war effort meets a photographer and begins a successful pin-up modeling career
Versatile composer, conductor, pianist, Leonard Bernstein composes musical On the Town
Becomes a naturalized US Citizen
American naval radar helps carrier forces fight Japanese air attacks.
Winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine, for work on nerve fibres
Receives the Nobel Prize in Physics for the resonance method used to measure magnetic properties of atomic nuclei.
Arrives in England to organize a US tactical air force in the United Kingdom. Commands the 9th US Airforce for Operation Overlord
Arrives in England to assume duties as Supreme Allied Commander of Operation Overlord. Carries out a plan to bomb the French railway system, despite Churchills opposition
Helps convince the Germans he will be leading an Allied landing in the Pas de Calais
Appointed President of the USA, 32nd President, 3rd term
Uses radar-directed tactics in night destroyer actions.
Liquid thermal diffusion supports enriched-uranium production.
Appointed Secretary of the Navy
Appointed Secretary of the Navy
Appointed Secretary of State
Approaches Monte Cassino on the west of the Gustav Line which guards the route to Rome
Hodgess troops are the first to reach Paris, France
Leads the American attack on the Siegfried Line
Appointed Commander of the US Tenth Army in the Pacific
Appointed Commander of the US Tenth Army in the Pacific
Appointed Commander of the Twelfth Army Group
Appointed Commander of the Twelfth Army Group
Visits China to discuss American military support
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