Most of the German reserves concentrate in the British sector and local counterattacks recapture positions lost that morning.
Other German forces retreat north. They intend to form a
defensive line across Italy. UNITED KINGDOM: Light cruiser HMS
Royalist commissioned. U.S.S.R.: The Russians land
at Mariupol on the Sea of Azov capturing the area. In the Donets sector the Russians capture Volnovakha and
Chaplino. A major engagement begins at Novorossiysk on the Black Sea after
landings. Although now firmly established at Salerno, the Allies do not
have enough room between the coast and the Germans to allow use of the ports at
Salerno and Vietri. The U.S. 36th Infantry Division,sets about capturing high
ground from Ogliastro to Albanella. Meanwhile, the British 10 Corps pushes on at
Battipaglia to capture Montecorvino airfield while 46 Division is to clear
Salerno and the corridors through the Sorrento peninsula. However, at first
light the Germans strike first, driving 56 Division out of Battipaglia but
Montecorvino airfield is captured by 3 Coldstream Guards and 2/6th Queen's
Regiment, 169 Brigade and Faiano falls without a fight. On 10 Corps' left, 46 Division troops end the day in a
stalemate with German forces at Cava di Tirreni. At the Gulf's southern end, the
U.S. 45th Infantry Division gets ashore virtually unmolested to support the 36th
Infantry Division - most defenders having been moved to the north against 10
Corps. General Clark believes he will soon advance on Naples. The British Eighth Army reaches the Catanzaro 'neck' after an
advance of about 100 miles (161 km). General Montgomery wishes to pause here but
is reluctantly persuaded to push forward to relieve pressure on the landings at
Salerno. 1 Airborne Division's patrols from Taranto reach Monopoli on the
Adriatic Coast and find it clear of Germans, but at Castellanata 10 Parachute
Battalion has a sharp engagement in which the Divisional commander,
Major-General G. F. Hopkinson, is mortally wounded. 5 Corps troops are now being
shipped into Taranto from where they are intended eventually to come under
Montgomery's command. (Jack McKillop) Rome: German reaction to the Italian surrender was predictably
swift. Within hours of Eisenhower's announcement of the Italian surrender,
General von Vietinghoff, the commander of the Tenth Army, today moved
paratroopers and a Panzer division to occupy Rome. Five Italian divisions stationed around Rome appeared ready to
defend the city, but capitulated quickly as the German commanders put Operation ACHSE
(Axis) into force. Ironically, the Americans had been preparing a
division-strong airborne landing in the city - but cancelled the operation when
Marshal Badoglio protested. Minelayer HMS
Abdiel which is bringing in supplies and a holding force after the announcement
of the Italian armistice, is sunk in the port of Taranto by German GS type
magnetic mines laid the previous evening by MFP478 and S54 and S61. There are 48
casualties amongst the crew plus 120 soldiers. (Alex Gordon)(108) MALTA: "Be pleased to inform
Their Lordships that the Italian Fleet lies at anchor under the guns of the
Fortress of Malta." With these words Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, the
commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, signalled to the admiralty the total
surrender of the Italian navy. Flying black flags of surrender and escorted by
ships of the Royal Navy, units of the Italian fleet are anchored off Valetta's
Grand Harbour. More ships are heading for Gibraltar and other Allied ports,
removing the naval threat in the Mediterranean. MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The Allies occupy
the Dodecanese island of Castelrosso. BURMA: US Tenth Air Force B-25
Mitchells again bomb Gokteik Viaduct; the approaches are battered but the
viaduct remains usable. (Jack McKillop) SINGAPORE: The Italian submarine
Reginaldo Giuliani is taken over by the Germans. Other Italian submarines COMMANDANTE ALFREDO CAPPELLINI
(I-503) and LUIGI TORELLI (I-504) are seized by the Japanese before being given
to the Germans as UIT24 and UIT25 respectively. (Henry Sirotin) NEW GUINEA: The Australian 7th Division begins an advance on
Lae from Nadzeb. The Australian 7 Division, having been flown to
Nadzab in US Fifth Air Force C-47 Skytrains, begins a push east toward Lae. (Jack McKillop) CANADA: Frigate
HMCS Stettler launched Montreal, Province
of Quebec. U.S.A.: The First and
Fourth Air Forces are relieved from their assignments to the US Army's Eastern
and Western defence Commands respectively and hereafter serve primarily as
training organizations for fighter units. (Jack McKillop) Frigate USS Grand Rapids launched. Destroyer USS Hickox
commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
Germans begin to evacuate the garrisons from Sardinia. They will move first to
Corsica and then to Italy. There will be s
Destroyer HMS Vigilant commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
US Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb a satellite airfield at Foggia. US Twelfth Air Force's XII Bomber Command medium bombers hit railroad and
road junctions and road net in the Castelnuovo-Pescopagano-Cassino-Capua-Formia
areas; B-17 Flying Fortresses attack the Ariano intersection and highway bridge
(and bridges and roads in the area), bridges near Botena and over the Tiber
River southwest of Rome, and roads, buildings, and railroad facilities at
Isernia; XII Air Support Command and RAF airplanes of the Northwest African
Tactical Air Force blast heavy road movement north from Lauria and cover
beachheads in the Salerno area as the British Eighth Army increases pressure on
its front in an effort to prevent the Germans from concentrating against the US
Fifth Army's Salerno beachhead. German troops occupy Rome. During the night of
10/11 September, B-25 Mitchells hit communications centers at Corleto, Perticara,
Auletta and Saptri. (Jack McKillop)
Minesweeper HMCS St Boniface commissioned.
Corvette Matapedia arrived Dartmouth, Nova Scotia for emergency repairs.
Minesweeper HMCS St Boniface following her
transit to Halifax and workups, she was assigned to EG W-5, later, W-4 of the
Western Escort Force, both times as the Senior Officer's flagship. (Dave Shirlaw)