Memoir '44: Air Pack
Title
Memoir '44: Air Pack
Collection Tree
- Memoir '44
- Memoir '44: Air Pack
Collection Items
Battle of the Bridgehead
On D-Day +1 the Canadians still sought to achieve their D-Day objectives and push through to the airfields at Carpiquet. Elements of the 9th Brigade, consisting of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and armour provided by the Sherbrooke Fusiliers,…
1944-06-09
Po Valley
In the last months of the war, between February and April 1945, the Wehrmacht built a fortified defensive system, along the Gothic Line's last limit ("The Green Line II"), near Montese. It was organized around Mount Montello (919 meters over …
1945-04-18
Kasserine Pass
After the Anglo-American landings in North Africa on November 8, 1942, the Americans remained optimistic about their ability to fight an opponent like Rommel and the Afrika Korps. Although in headlong retreat after the Battle of El Alamein, Rommel…
1943-02-22
Clearing Matanikau River
At the start of the new year, General Patch ordered the 2nd and 8th Marines to drive westward and clear the Japanese Resistance from the hills overlooking the coast near Point Cruz. On January 13th, Marines assaulted the Japanese positions …
1943-01-13
Bloody Ridge
Bloody Ridge consisted of a series of grassy ridges south of Henderson Field where Colonel "Red Mike" Edson had positioned his troops. The Japanese attack began with a bombardment, followed by a powerful thrust that pushed back the Marine companies …
1942-09-14
Tenaru
During the night of August 20-21, Marine scouts on the east bank of Alligator Creek detected the movement of a large body of Japanese troops. Col. Kiyonao Ichiki ordered his infantry troops forward, using "human wave" tactics, but the 2nd …
1942-08-21
Mabatang
The first major battle of the "Fighting Retreat" occurred south of Calaguiman River. Supported by artillery, the 57th Infantry, set up a line of defense extending from Manila Bay through Mabatang across open ground. The Japanese 65th Brigade and 9th…
1942-01-11
Sea of Azov
On September 26, 1941, Soviet units from the 9th and 18th Army attack the northern flank of the German 11th Army. The 1st Mountain Division and the "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" Motorized Division are rushed into position to bolster the …
1941-10-07
Lipovec
Operating in central Ukraine as part of the 17th German Army, a Slovakian motorized brigade, named after its commander, Brigadier General Rudolf Pilfousek, was ordered on July 22nd to capture the town of Lipovec. Made up of mechanized armor, infantry…
1941-07-22
Russian Breakout
By late July the Russian 6th and 12th Armies are in full retreat, trying desperately to avoid encirclement by the German Seventeenth Army. General Tyulenev, the southern front commander, orders Musychenenko (6th Army) and Ponedelin (12th Army) to…
1941-07-31
The Meat Grinder
On February 26, 1945 the Marines of the 4th Division found themselves facing a formidable complex of defensive positions on Iwo Jima. Hill 382, The Amphitheater, Turkey Knob and the village of Minami, were to become collectively known as the …
1945-03-06
Sugar Loaf and Half Moon
The Japanese units defending the western flank of the Shuri line were in a strong defensive position. Entrenched in tunnels with interlocking fields of fire between Sugar Loaf, Half Moon and the surrounding hills, they were able to hold off …
1945-05-19
Japanese Counter-attack
Lieutenant General Takeshi's counter-attack plan called for a night attack on July 25/26. The goal was to split the 3rd Marines Division and target ammunition and supply dumps. The front-line of the 3rd Marines was stretched thin in the area …
1944-07-25
Guam Landings
On July 21st, the first wave to hit the northern landing beaches off the island of Guam in the Marianas, were amphibious tank units. Most of the Japanese infantry had pulled back from their beach defenses during the heavy naval …
1944-07-21
Slopes of Mount Austen
At the close of the year, Major General Millard Harmon, commanding U.S. Army Forces in the South Pacific concluded that Mount Austen, the high ground that dominated American positions around Henderson Field, had to be taken in order to secure …
1943-01-22
Matanikau River
A four-pronged Japanese plan to attack and recapture Henderson Field on Guadalcanal was scheduled for October 22nd, 1942. The main force, 7,000 men under the command of General Maruyama, planned to approach the airfield from the South, but found…
1942-10-23
Wake Island
A coral atoll lost in the vast expanse of the North Pacific, Wake Island was home to "PAAville", a small stopover on Pan American Airways' U.S.-China route during the 1930s. In the military build-up to the war, the US Navy …
1941-12-23
Valkenswaard
At 2:35 September 17, Lieutenant Keith Heathcote, commander of the leading tank troop, ordered his tanks forward. The objective, just a short three hours drive down the southernmost stretch of road soon to become know as Hell's Highway, was…
1944-09-17
Battle for Rostov
The Battle for Rostov was a seesaw battle. Army Group South, with Ewald von Kleist's 1st Panzer Army in the vanguard, had taken the city by November 21st. But the German lines were over-extended and no longer in position to …
1941-11-26
Beda Fomm
On February 4th, Major-General O'Connor, with armored cars leading the way followed by 4th Armored Brigade, moved out to trap the Italians. The going was tough and a fast-wheeled vanguard was dispatched under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Combe…
1941-02-07
Bug River
On June 22, 1941, the 18th Panzer Division made an unusual assault across the Bug River. The first wave of infantry in "Sturmboot" assault craft was followed by anti-tank and artillery on decked inflatable rafts. Even more remarkable, were the …
1941-06-22
Breakout to Lisyanka
In January 1944 a large pocket of 6 German divisions with over 56,000 troops had been cut-off by the Soviet Army's 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Front troops. For days the Russians continued the attack in an attempt to split up …
1944-02-17
Ponyri
The village of Ponyri was the focal point of General Walther Model's planned breakthrough in the area north of Kursk. Three German infantry division were ordered to assault the village, while elements of two Panzer divisions supported the attack.…
1943-07-09
Red Barricades
By mid October the fighting amidst the rubble of the Red Barricades factory complex in the northern section of Stalingrad had drawn in more and more of the German 6th Army's forces. On the 22nd the 79th Infantry division, supported …
1942-10-22
Breakout at Klin
When the German offensive against Moscow came to a halt on December 6, 1941, the 1st Panzer Division was ordered to Klin with the mission of keeping the town open for the withdrawal of other German formations. It succeeded in …
1941-12-08
Gates of Moscow
In October, the German High Command launched the final offensive of 1941 - Unternehmen Taifun (Operation Typhoon). The initial German success on the Eastern Front had put them deep into the Soviet Union on all fronts, but the advance slowed …
1941-10-18
Across the River Roer
The 9th Army was lined up along the River Roer on the 23rd of February at the start of Operation Grenade. The river had receded enough to make a crossing possible and the Operation opened with a tremendous artillery bombardment. …
1945-02-24
Schwammenauel Dam
Before Operation 'Veritable' and 'Grenade' could begin, there was a matter of the Roer dams to consider. These dams were located in an area of steep gorges, small mountains and narrow roads. Earlier attempts to capture the dams had failed …
1945-02-09
Nijmegen Bridges
It was hoped that the 82nd Airborne Paratroopers would be able to take the strongly held Nijmegen bridges during the early phases of Operation Market Garden, but other priorities, and drops that put most of the Paratroopers miles from their …
1944-09-20
Knightsbridge
The Battle of Gazala was a series of clashes between Rommel and the British in the late spring of 1942 near the Libyan coast. The brilliant, but risky maneuvers by the "Desert Fox" in late May and early June were …
1942-06-12
Moyland Wood
On the afternoon of the 16th the Royal Winnipeg Rifles supported by the 3rd Armor Battalion Scots Guards was ordered to take the hilly ground around Louisendorf. On its left the Regina Rifle Regiment with tank support was to clear …
1945-02-20
Bloody Gulch
The town of Carentan was the key to the American drive west to cut off the base of the Cotentin Peninsula. After two days of fighting and desperately short of ammunition, the Germans pulled their forces out of Carentan and …
1944-06-13
Tunisia
On November 29th and 30th it was tough going for the still largely green Allied Combat Command. The Allies had launched two unsuccessful attacks to take the town of Djedeida and clear a path for the march on Tunis. Then …
1942-12-01
Gallabat-Metemma
Gallabat-Metemma was Britain's first land offensive of the East Africa campaign. On November 6th, 1940, Brigadier J.W. Slim led the British assault. Under his command were the 10th Indian Infantry Brigade, 12 tanks from the 4th Royal Tank Regiment…
1940-11-06
Operation Spring
Operation Spring called for the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions supported by the 7th Guards Armored Division to make a deliberate attack in the direction of Falaise. The first phase of the plan was the capture of May-sur-Orne, Verrières Ridge …
1944-07-25
Utah Beach
The American plan was that following the air and naval bombardment, the 8th Regiment would land first, followed by Duplex Drive (DD) tanks. Utah was divided into a northern beach 'Tare' and a southern beach 'Uncle'. When Brigadier General Theodore …
1944-06-06
Operation Goodwood
Around 8 AM on July 18th, after an aerial bombardment of more than two hours' duration, Operation "Goodwood" started. Caen was being cleared successfully by the Canadian Corps, while the 11th Armored Division moved forward followed by the Guards…
1944-07-20
Battle of Arracourt
Part of the problem for the German forces involved in the Lorraine counter-offensive was the "Eastern" outlook of many of the units. They were unfamiliar with the US Army and its very different tactics. On the Eastern front, tank formations …
1944-09-19
Liberation of Paris
Conscious of the highly symbolic and political importance of Paris, Allied forces initially planned to surround the city and wait for its capitulation rather than risk taking it, with the inherent costs of street-by-street fighting and obvious risks…
1944-08-24
Counter-attack on Mortain
"We must strike like lightning!" - Adolf Hitler to Field Marshall Von Kluge 'Unternehmen Luttich' began shortly before midnight on the evening of August 3rd. Under direct orders from Hitler, four armored divisions launched a counterattack westward…
1944-08-07
Operation Cobra
Operation "Cobra" was predicated on the saturation bombing of German lines over a narrow front. After the bombing, an attack would be made by three infantry divisions, with two armored and one infantry divisions held in reserve of this breakout …
1944-07-26
Pointe-du-Hoc
Planners felt that the German batteries on Pointe-du-Hoc would be one of the most daunting threats to Allied forces landing on Omaha in the morning of D-Day. Set atop 100 foot cliffs west of the beach, the guns' range were …
1944-06-06
Sword Beach
The 8th Brigade of the 3rd British Division, supported by Commandos of the 1st Special Service Brigade and the amphibious Sherman tanks of the 13th/18th Hussars, formed the first wave of Allied forces to land on "Sword" beach, near the …
1944-06-06
Carentan Causeway
Rommel realized the danger to the Axis defenses should Carentan fall, for it was the link between the two US beaches and also the key to an American drive west to cut the base of the Cotentin Peninsula. The defense …
1944-06-11
Yellow Beach
The 23rd British Assault Craft force heading toward the Yellow Beaches sailed into the path of a German convoy. The German ships opened fire and after a brisk engagement, the British commanders agreed that the landings at Yellow Beaches should …
1942-08-19
Twin Villages
The Ardennes offensive began in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, 16th December 1944. The northernmost element of the German attack was an attempt by the 67th Corps in the Monschau forest to push through the left wing of the US …
1944-12-18
Bastogne Corridor East
On December 30th German High Command's plan to capture Bastogne called for a push from the west simultaneously with another from the east. The object of these two forces was to pinch the corridor at Assenois south of the town. …
1944-12-30
Bastogne Corridor West
On December 30th German High Command's plan to capture Bastogne called for a push from the west simultaneously with another from the east. The object of these two forces was to pinch the corridor at Assenois south of the town. …
1944-12-30
Relief of Peiper
Ordered to move to the relief of Kampfgruppe 'Peiper', Max Hansen on December 21st started probing with his battlegroup between Trois-Ponts and Grand-Halleux. The 505th Parachute Regiment had established a defensive front to defend or blow the…
1944-12-22
Strasbourg
On the 7th of January 1945, the German Nineteen Army initiated an attack south of Strasbourg against the First French Army. Code-named 'Sonnenwende' ("Winter Solstice"), the operation led by the 198th Volksgrenadier Division, the 106th Panzer Brigade…
1945-01-11