This is a brief
chronological list of events from January through September 1944. The events have
been noted without comment. The
Department of State Bulletin, the chronologies of Current History and of the
Bulletin of International News, the New York Times and the London Times proved
most useful in the preparation of this
list. It was prepared after the completion of the index to the main chronology,
and is not itself indexed.
The first part of the Addenda (through May) is the
work of Evelyn Wiley; the period from June through September was covered by A.
0. Sarkissian (both of the Inquiry Section).
1944
January 8. Russian armies drove across
the border into pre-war Poland. (This report was not confirmed by the Russian
Government. )
January 5. Announcement was made of
the establishment under the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission of a system of West
Indian conferences.
The Polish Government in London issued a statement
on the entry of the Soviet forces into pre-war Poland. The Polish Nation was
entitled to expect "full justice and redress" as soon as it was freed
from enemy occupation. The first condition of such justice was "The
earliest reestablishment of Polish sovereign administration in the liberated
territories of the Republic of Poland and the protection of life and property
of Polish citizens."'
January 9. Prime Minister Churchill
and General de Gaulle met at Marrakesh, Morocco, for discussions on the
cooperation of a French expeditionary force in the invasion of Europe, and the
degree of authority of the French committee in the control of civil affairs
inside France after the invasion.
January 10. Prime Minister Churchill
and President Roosevelt, in a joint announcement, reported that merchant
shipping losses due to U-boats were 60 percent less than losses for the
preceding year.
The report of the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission was issued: A
Caribbean Research Council had been set up (representing Britain, United
States, and the Netherlands); steps had been taken to establish an organization
for coordinating and expanding the purchase of imported food; an interisland
distribution system was developed.
Announcement was made of a Swedish-German trade agreement for 1944,
providing for reduction of Swedish exports to Germany.
The Moscow radio broadcast a statement by the Soviet Government
replying to the Polish statement of January 5. The Soviet statement declared
that the Polish assertions about the Soviet-Polish frontier were incorrect, and
defended the incorporation of the territories of western Ukraine in Soviet
Ukraine, and those
413
414 ADDENDA
of
western White Russia in Soviet White Russia. The Soviet, Government did not
regard the 1939 frontiers as immutable. The Soviet-Polish frontier could pass
approximately along the so-called Curzon line, but Poland's western borders
must be extended to incorporate Polish land previously stolen by Germany. The
Soviet Government repeated its desire for the reestablishment of a strong,
independent Poland, and for friendship between Poland and the Soviet Union.
January 12. Leighton McCarthy presented
his letters of credentials to President Roosevelt as the first Canadian
Ambassador to the United States.
January 15. The Polish Government
replied to the Russian statement of January 10: The Polish Government was
"approaching the British and United States Governments with a view to securing through their intermediary the
discussion by the Polish and Soviet Governments . . . of all outstanding
questions, the settlement of which should lead to friendly and permanent
cooperation between Poland and the Soviet Union . . ."
Secretary of State Hull announced the reorganization of the State
Department. A policy committee and a post-war program committee were
established. An advisory council on foreign policy and a new division for labor
relations were created.
January 16. It was announced that
General Eisenhower had arrived in Great Britain and assumed his duties as
Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces.
January 17. Colombia signed the United
Nations Declaration.
Moscow radio broadcast the Russian reply to the Polish declaration of January 15. The evasion in the Polish declaration of the question of the recognition of the Curzon line as the Soviet Polish frontier could only be interpreted as a rejection of that line. The Soviet Government was of the opinion that it could not enter into official negotiations with the Polish Government, since diplomatic relations were broken off between them, and had been broken off through the fault of the Polish Government. In the opinion of Soviet circles these circumstances demonstrated that the existing Polish Government did not desire to establish good neighborly relations with the Soviet Union.
January 19. In a speech to the House of
Commons, Foreign Secretary Eden warned the Spanish Government against continued
aid to Germany by maintaining Spanish troops on the Russian front.
January 20. Soviet troops captured
Novgorod.
General Isaias Medina, President of Venezuela,
addressed the United States Congress.
January 22. Allied troops made a
surprise landing a short distance from Rome in the Anzio region.
January 25. Eighty-three Japanese
planes and numerous ships were destroyed by an Allied raid on Rabaul.
January 26. President Ramirez of
Argentina, informed President Roosevelt that he had signed a decree of breach
of diplomatic relations with Germany and Japan.
January 27. Atrocity stories on the
treatment by the, Japanese of American and Filipino soldiers after the
surrender of Bataan and Corregidor disclosed in official reports of the United
States Army and Navy.
The government of Liberia declared war on Germany
and Japan.
January 29. Russian troops cleared the
entire Moscow Leningrad area of Germans.
January 31. Combined United States
forces invaded Kwajalein.
The United States Department of State issued a statement
in which it revealed a series of protests and requests concerning the treatment
of prisoners made by the United States to Japan from December 7, 1941, to date.
February 2. Russian forces crossed the
Esthonian border and captured Vanakula.
February 3. United States warships
shelled Paramushiru Island in the first attack on Japanese home territory.
February 4. Argentina severed
diplomatic relations with Bulgaria, Vichy France, Hungary, and Rumania.
February 6. In Italy, both on the
Cassino front and on the beachhead south of Rome, Allied troops were forced to
withdraw
under heavy German counterattacks.
February 8. The Chancellor of the
Exchequer announced in the House of Commons that a Financial and a Mutual Aid
Agreement had been signed with the French Committee of National Liberation.
President Roosevelt signed a proclamation to repeal
the Chinese Exclusion Act.
February 12. Pravda published an article
accusing the Polish Government of "hostile activities screened by false
words of friendship."
February 15. German fortification of the Mount Cassino Abbey
bombed by Allies. President Roosevelt declared that such monuments cannot be
spared where American lives are at stake.
February 16-17. Strong United States Navy task forces
attacked Truk.
February 17. The Red Army completed "liquidation" of
10 trapped Nazi divisions in the Ukraine.
February 25. President Ramirez, of Argentina, resigned and was
succeeded by General Edelmiro Farrell.
February 29. The Soviet Government confirmed the Finnish-Soviet
peace rumors, and revealed the conditions of peace demanded of Finland.
Americans invaded the Admiralty Islands.
March 3. President Roosevelt declared that the Italian Fleet
would be equally divided between the United States, Great Britain, and Russia,
the decision having been made when Italy surrendered.
March 6. In a daylight raid, 800 American planes bombed
Berlin in what was to be the beginning of round-the-clock bombing.
March 11. Former Vichy Minister of the Interior, Pierre
Pucheau, was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death by a special
military court in Algiers.
March 15. Allied bombers leveled Cassino with 3,500-ton
assault.
March 17. United States planes landed Allied troops behind
Japanese lines in northern Burma, following occupation of Hukawng Valley by
United States and Chinese infantry.
416 ADDENDA
March 20. The Russians swept into
Bessarabia.
It was reported that Turkey
had concluded a new commercial treaty with Germany.
March 21. Finland announced its
rejection of the Russian armistice terms.
Secretary of State Hull issued a 17-point program of
American foreign policy aimed at a post-war world of international cooperation.
March 22. The Japanese invaded India
from Burma.
March 29. German troops entered
Hungary and took control of airfields and other key points.
March 21-31. The first West Indian
Conference, acting under the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission, was held at
Bridgetown, Barbados, British West Indies. Its purpose was the discussion of a
cooperative program to rebuild economic, social, and health conditions in
American and British possessions in the Caribbean area.
March 22. Prime Minister Churchill
declared that a clarification of the Atlantic Charter must be the subject for
renewed consultation between the principal Allies.
March 25. Secretary of State Hull
announced that the United States would send a delegation to collaborate with
the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education in London. The delegation would
consist of: Hon. J. William Fulbright, chairman Archibald MacLeish, John W.
Studebaker, Grayson N. Kefauver, Ralph E. Turner, Dean C. Mildred Thompson
(appointment announced April 1).
March 28. House Joint Resolution 192
approved, providing for the appropriation of a sum not to exceed $1,350,000,000
to be used for United States participation in the work of United Nations Relief
and Rehabilitation Administration.
March 28-April
3. Allied
bombers destroyed 288 Japanese planes at Hollandia in largest Southwest Pacific
raids.
March 30. United States bombers from
the Mediterranean area began a series of heavy raids on the Balkans.
March 31. The House of Commons gave
Prime Minister Churchill a 425 to 23 vote of confidence, after a previous
Government defeat on the issue of equal pay for women teachers.
April 2. The Red Army swept into
Rumania.
April 7. United States Under
Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius, Jr., arrived in London to begin a
series of conferences with the British Foreign Office.
April 9. Secretary of State Hull, in
a speech to the people of the Nation, defined United States foreign policy.
April 10. The Russians captured
Odessa.
Apr. 10. Liberia signed the United
Nations Declaration.
Apr. 13. Three thousand United
States planes from Britain and Italy raided Germany, Hungary, and Yugoslavia.
April 14. Canada signed a treaty with
China relinquishing extraterritorial rights in China.
April 22. Allies landed at Hollandia,
Dutch Now Guinea.
April 28. The Chinese acknowledged
the Japanese capture of Chengchow.
May 9. The Soviet Army retook
Sevastopol.
May 10. The Chinese began drive
toward northern Burma.
May 11. Allies opened big offensive
in central Italy.
May 12. The American, British, and
Soviet Governments issued a declaration to the Axis satellites, Hungary,
Rumania, Bulgaria, and Finland, warning them to withdraw from the war, cease
collaboration with Germany, and resist the forces of nazi-ism, or suffer the
consequence in rigorous peace terms.
May 18. Cassino captured by the
Allied forces.
The Prime Ministers of the
British Commonwealth of Nations announced that they had decided at their London
conference that after the War there should be a new kind of League of Nations
with power and authority to prevent aggression.
May 24. Prime Minister Churchill,
speaking to the House of Commons, stated that a post-war world organization
would be set up, probably with a "world council, of the greatest states,
and a “world assembly" of the lesser.
May 26. President Roosevelt issued
a call for the meeting of United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference.
May 27. United States forces landed on Biak Island in the
Shoutens group, 900 miles from the Philippines.
May 29. Secretary of State Hull announced that he was ready
to proceed through international discussions with principal Allied governments
with steps toward formation of a world security program.
Japanese launched an
offensive in the Honan-Hupeh areas, hoping to seize the entire Canton-Hankow
railroad.
May 30. President Carlos Arroyo del
Rio of Ecuador and his cabinet resigned after a revolutionary junta seized
power in Guayaquil.
May 31. President Roosevelt
announced the first United States draft of a nonpolitical and tentative
organization to the major powers.
Ex-President Ibarra returned
to power in Ecuador and assumed the Presidency, with General Alba as leader of
the "military provisional government.”
June 1. Iceland severed ties with,
Denmark and became an independent republic.
Pope Pius XII broadcast from
the Vatican on conditions for an enduring peace.
King Peter of Yugoslavia
issued a declaration to Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, urging unity "till
war is won."
Prime Minister de Valera's
party retained its majority in the general election.
June 2. Senor Grau San Martin
elected President of Cuba.
June 3. General Alexander issued a
proclamation to the people of Rome, calling on them to help to save the city.
June 4. Rome was captured by the
United States Fifth Army.
June 5. King Victor Emmanuel of
Italy transferred royal powers to Prince Umberto and the latter became
"Lieutenant of the Realm."
Premier Mikolajczyk of the
Polish Government arrived in Washington for conference with President Roosevelt
and Secretary Hull on Polish-Russian relations.
418 ADDENDA
June 6. Allied invasion forces
under the supreme command of General Eisenhower began landing on the northern
coast of France.
The Badoglio government in
Italy resigned.
United States recognized the
Ibarra government of Ecuador.
Portuguese Government
prohibited the export of wolfram, and took steps to bring about the cessation
of its production.
June 7. Allied High Command and the
French authorities representing General de Gaulle have fully agreed on military
matters.
King Leopold of the Belgians
was taken to Germany.
King Haakon of Norway
delivered a speech on the rights of small nations to share in post-war
decisions.
June 8. Crown Prince Umberto of
Italy asked Signor Bonomi to form a new government.
June 11. Saipan, Tinian, and Guam
Islands in the Marianas were, attacked by United States carrier forces.
June 12. Czechoslovak Government in
London called on all Czechs and Slovaks in German and Hungarian armies to
desert whenever possible,
June 18. The French Committee of
National Liberation was recognized as Provisional Government of France by the
exiled Governments. of Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Luxembourg, and Poland.
June 15. President Roosevelt issued
an outline plan calling for postwar international security.
United States amphibious
forces stormed Saipan in the Marianas group.
June 16. The Finnish Minister in
Washington and his three counselors were given their passports and asked to
leave the country.
June 18. Czechoslovak-Soviet
agreement was signed, providing for printing of Czech currency in Russia for
use by Czech and Russian authorities when Red Army reaches Czech territory.
June 19. Allied governments approved
the newly formed Bonomi government in Italy.
June 21. British Government promised
the Trans-Jordanese that a treaty more favorable than that of 1928 will be
negotiated after the war.
June 28. United States and Great
Britain resumed diplomatic relations with the new Government of Bolivia.
June 26. United States invasion
forces captured Cherbourg.
June 27. United States Ambassador to
Argentina was recalled for "consultation."
June 28. The Vatican resumed
diplomatic relations with the Netherlands Government in exile.
British Government agreed to
establish a war refugee haven in one of the former Italian colonies in Libya.
Governor Dewey of New York
was nominated for the Presidency, with Governor Bricker of Ohio as his running
mate by the Republican National Convention in Chicago.
June 29. Polish Government signed an
agreement with Britain for war supplies on lend-lease terms.
June 30. United States severed
diplomatic relations with Finland.
July 1. United Nations Monetary and
Financial Conference opened at Bretton Woods, N. H.
President Ubico of Guatemala
resigned and the Government, fell into the hands of a military junta.
July 5. Secretary of War Stimson
conferred with Pope Pius XII and talked on peace terms to be dictated to
Germany.
July 6. General Charles de Gaulle
arrived in Washington for conference with the President.
July l1. United States recognized
the French Committee of National Liberation as the de facto authority in
the civil administration of France.
July 18. Egyptian Government issued
a call for a pan-Arab meeting.
July 26. President Roosevelt was
nominated for Presidency for a fourth term by the Democratic National
Convention in Chicago, with Senator Truman as his running mate.
July 20. Attempted plot to
assassinate Hitler was reported.
July 21. United States forces began
landing on Guam island.
July 23. Moscow announced the
formation of a Polish Committee of National Liberation.
July 27. The State Department issued
a summary of the position of Government in its relation to the Farrell regime
in Argentina, justifying its non-recognition policy.
United States signed an
agreement with Luxembourg in the civil administration of Luxembourg territory.
Premier Bonomi of Italy
asked the United States for lend-lease aid.
July 31. Premier Mikolajczyk of
Poland arrived in Moscow to confer with Soviet officials.
August 2. Churchill reviewed the
course of the war in an address in the House of Commons.
Turkey severed diplomatic
and economic relations with Germany.
Polish underground army in
Warsaw area under, General Bor started fighting against the Germans.
President Ryti of Finland
resigned, and the Parliament voted unanimously Field Marshal Mannerheim for the
Presidency.
August 6. Russia recognized the
Lebanese government as an independent, republican government.
August 7. Colombia and Venezuela
declared that they "are unable to normalize, their relations with the
Argentine Government of Farrell."
August 8. Petroleum agreement was
signed between the representatives of the United States and the United Kingdom.
August 11. It was reported that United
States, Great Britain, and Russia will establish a joint commission for
post-war administration of Austria.
August 12. Churchill met Tito in Italy
for a conference.
August 14. Russia proposed to United
States and Great Britain the creation of a world security organization backed
by an "international military air corps."
August 15. Allied forces under
Lieutenant General Patch began landings in southern France (Cannes-Toulon
sector).
August 16. United States Government
froze Argentina's gold stocks in this country.
August 17. India is cleared of all
Japanese forces.
August 19. Secretary Hull announced
the resignation of Mr. Phillips, political adviser to General Eisenhower.
420 ADDENDA
August 21. International Peace and
Security Conference opened at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D. C.
August 23. Churchill conferred with
Pope Pius XII in Rome..
August 25. Paris is retaken by the
Allied forces.
Russians captured Kishinev
in Bessarabia and arrived at Galati Gate, pathway to the Balkans and the Danube
delta.
Rumania declared war against
Germany.
August 26. Marseilles is retaken by
the Allied forces.
General Mikhailovitch lost
his command in Yugoslavia by a royal decree.
August 29. United States recognized
the Polish Home Army as a combat force.
August 3l. Bucharest is captured by
the Russians.
September 1. Mr. Robert Murphy is
appointed political adviser to General Eisenhower on Germany.
September 2. Finland accepted the
Russian armistice terms.
September 4. Russo-Finnish war came to
an end as "cease fire" was ordered by the Finnish Government.
Brussels is retaken by the
Allied forces.
September 5. Russia declared war on
Bulgaria.
Customs agreement is signed,
among Belgium, Luxemburg, and the Netherlands.
September 6. Bulgaria asked Russia for
an armistice, and declared war on Germany.
September 7. Russian forces in the
Balkans reached the eastern borders of Yugoslavia.
United States recognized
Czechoslovak fighting forces and those of Slovakia as a combat force.
September 9. Provisional Government of
France issued a proclamation abolishing all laws promulgated by the Vichy
government.
September 10. Russian-Iraqi diplomatic
relations established.
September 11. Churchill-Roosevelt
conference started at Quebec.
Luxemburg is liberated.
September 12. Le Havre is retaken by the
Allied forces.
September 13. Russo-Rumanian armistice
signed.
September 14. Australia and New Zealand
joined in Churchill-Roosevelt conference at Quebec.
United States forces began
landing on Pelelieu Island of the Palau group.
September 15. Landings also began on
Halmahera and Moratai Islands, in the Mulacca group.
September 16. Tito's territorial demands
on Italy, including Istria and Trieste, caused dismay among Italians.
September 17. Allied air-borne troops
successfully landed behind enemy lines in Arnhem, Holland.
September 19. Russo-Finnish armistice
signed.
United States accorded full
recognition to Syria and the Lebanon.
September 20. Port of Brest is captured
by the Allies.
September 22. Russian forces captured
Tallinn, capital of Esthonia.
September 25. Pan-Arab conference opened
in Alexandria, Egypt, with Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Trans-Jordan
participating.
September 28. Allied air-borne troops
relinquished their hold in Arnhem after severe losses.
September 29. Russian representative
withdrew from the Dumbarton Oaks Conference, and the second part of the
Conference began with China participating.
President Roosevelt publicly
rebuked the Farrell regime in Argentina.
The Polish Government
dropped General Sosnkowski from the post of commander in chief, and appointed
General Bor in his place.