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WWII On This Day: August 14

What happened on August 14 during World War II? This date brings together 3 events from 1943 and 1944, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1943
British and American soldiers meet near Randazzo after its capture on 14 August 1943; the photograph has a campaign-period, not exact-day, attribution.
British and American soldiers meet near Randazzo after its capture on 14 August 1943; the photograph has a campaign-period, not exact-day, attribution. Sgt Dawson / No. 2 Army Film & Photographic Unit / IWM NA 5887 · UK Government public domain Source
Operation Husky: The Invasion of Sicily

Randazzo falls and the road to Messina shortens

Allied forces entered Randazzo on 14 August after German rearguards withdrew from the mountain town. Randazzo had guarded a central route between the northern and eastern approaches to Messina. Its loss compressed the remaining Axis positions toward the strait. British and American formations pressed on from different roads while the German transport organisation continued to bring troops across to Calabria.

Continue in Operation Husky: The Invasion of Sicily →
1944
Alexander Patch, Vice Admiral H. Kent Hewitt and other senior officers aboard the operation flagship USS Catoctin while en route to the invasion area, 14 August 1944.
Alexander Patch, Vice Admiral H. Kent Hewitt and other senior officers aboard the operation flagship USS Catoctin while en route to the invasion area, 14 August 1944. U.S. Navy / National Museum of the U.S. Navy, 80-G-K-2018 · Public domain Source
Operation Dragoon

The Invasion Fleet Turns Toward Provence

Convoys assembled from ports in Italy, North Africa, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica converged on the invasion area under Vice Admiral H. Kent Hewitt's Western Naval Task Force. On 14 August the assault groups turned toward the Var coast while air and naval deception continued elsewhere in the western Mediterranean. The same night, coded messages activated Resistance operations in southern France. Sabotage of railways and communications added to the interdiction already imposed by Allied aircraft, complicating German movement before the main landings began.

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A converted cable ship laying pipeline across the English Channel, 1944.
Pipeline laying in the Channel, 1944 ·
Operation PLUTO

Sancroft's line is lost at the shore

HMS Sancroft completed another cross-Channel lay. The cable fouled the propeller of HMS Algerian during the difficult shore-end operation and was rendered unusable.

Continue in Operation PLUTO →