JULY 18
1944
Polish Troops occupied Ancona: The Battle involving Polish forces serving as part of the British Army (June 16 to July 18, 1944) during the Italian Campaign in World War II. The Battle was the result of an Allied plan to capture the city of Ancona in Italy in order to gain possession of a seaport closer to the fighting so that they could shorten their lines of communication. On June 16, 1944, the Polish 2nd Corps was given the mission to capture the city from German forces, and accomplished its objectives about a month later on July 18, 1944.
Lublin-Brest Offensive (part of Operation Bagration): Five armies of the 1st Belorussian Front (including one Polish army, the Polish First Army) deployed on the front’s left wing south of the Pinsk Marshes, struck and shattered the defenses of Army Group North Ukraine 4th Panzer Army west of Kovel. Within hours, the front’s 2nd Tank Army and several mobile corps began exploiting success to the west with the infantry following in their wake. Lieutenant General Nikolai Gusev's 47th Army and Colonel General Vasily Chuikov's 8th Guards Army broke through the German defenses, and by July 21 they had reached the eastern banks of the Bug River.
2nd Bombing of Peenemunde: Allied aircraft bombed the Nazi rocket test center at Peenemunde. 377 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses bombed the Peenemünde experimental establishment, the scientific HQ at Zinnowitz, and the marshalling yards at Stralsund. Three B-17s were lost and 64 were damaged. Escort was provided by 297 P-38 Lightnings and P-51 Mustangs; they claimed 21-0-12 Luftwaffe aircraft; three P-51s were lost and one was damaged beyond repair. A Peenemünde test launch planned that day was scrapped when Test Stand VII was heavily damaged. The P-11 production calibration firing stand near Werke Süd was a complete loss, and 50 enemy soldiers were killed, including anti-aircraft soldiers.
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