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WWII On This Day: August 1

What happened on August 1 during World War II? This date brings together 6 events from 1940 and 1944, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1940
A formation of Heinkel He 111s in the Battle of Britain
Imperial War Museums, MH6547 · Public domain · Source
The Battle of Britain

The destruction of Fighter Command becomes the central air objective

Directive No. 17 ordered the Luftwaffe to overpower the English air force with all available means and intensified the campaign against aircraft, ground organisation and supporting industry. The intended result was operational freedom for the next stage of the war against Britain. The problem was intelligence. German estimates of Fighter Command's strength were imperfect and became increasingly optimistic as the campaign continued. Airfields were also difficult to classify from the air: a damaged station might belong to Fighter, Bomber, Coastal or training commands, and visible craters did not reveal whether…

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1944
An ammunition dump in France, 1944.
An ammunition dump in France, 1944. US Army Signal Corps · DPLA / NARA · Public domain Source
Operation Overlord

Third Army activated

Patton's Third Army became operational and Bradley took command of the new 12th Army Group. Montgomery remained in overall ground command for the time being. Third Army poured through the Avranches corridor into Brittany and east towards the Loire. The campaign of position had become a campaign of movement, and the German army in Normandy was now in danger of being enveloped from the south.

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American armour moving through the ruins of Saint-Lô during the breakout, July 1944.
American armour in the ruins of Saint-Lô, July 1944 · US Army Signal Corps · NARA · Public domain · Source
Operation Cobra

Third Army is activated

Patton's Third Army became operational and passed through the Avranches gap, sending armoured columns west into Brittany and east towards the Loire and Le Mans. The war in Normandy had been a siege for eight weeks. From this day it was a pursuit, and it did not stop until the Seine.

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Officers of the Pięść Battalion meet at the Evangelical Cemetery on 1 August 1944 before W-Hour.
Officers of the Pięść Battalion meet at the Evangelical Cemetery on 1 August 1944 before W-Hour. Stefan Bałuk · Public domain (Poland) Source
The Warsaw Rising

The first fighting begins early

At about 13:50 a Home Army patrol in Żoliborz encountered German personnel and opened fire, several hours before the scheduled start of the Rising. German units in the district reacted before the citywide attack began. The clash reduced surprise in northern Warsaw and complicated the movement of insurgents toward assembly points, but the 17:00 order remained in force across the Warsaw District.

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Officers of Battalion “Pięść” confer at the Evangelical cemetery before W-hour on the first day of the Warsaw Uprising, 1 August 1944.
Officers of Battalion “Pięść” confer at the Evangelical cemetery before W-hour on the first day of the Warsaw Uprising, 1 August 1944. Stefan Bałuk · 1 August 1944 · Public domain (Poland) Source
Operation Bagration

The Warsaw Uprising begins as German armour strikes the Soviet spearhead

The Polish Home Army began its uprising in Warsaw at 17:00, intending to seize the capital before Soviet forces entered it. East of the city, however, German armoured formations were counterattacking around Radzymin and Wołomin. German forces still held Praga and the Vistula crossings, while 2nd Tank Army's forward corps were fighting to avoid being cut off. The two events immediately became intertwined without being identical. The uprising created a political and humanitarian crisis inside Warsaw; the battle outside the city imposed an operational check on the Soviet spearhead. German…

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A proclamation of the insurgent authorities posted in Warsaw on 1 August 1944.
A proclamation of the insurgent authorities posted in Warsaw on 1 August 1944. Unknown photographer / wartime Polish publication · Public domain (Poland) Source
The Warsaw Rising

W-Hour

At 17:00 the Warsaw District opened the general attack. About 30,000 Home Army personnel entered the first day's fighting from a mobilisation pool of roughly 40,000 to 45,000. Available rifles, pistols, submachine guns and machine guns armed only a minority, so many assault groups depended on grenades, petrol bottles and weapons expected to be captured. The insurgents secured substantial parts of Śródmieście, the Old Town and several outer districts, but the Vistula bridges, airfields, principal railway stations, Citadel and many fortified German compounds remained outside their control. Those surviving strongpoints…

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