World War II in real time

Day 1741 of World War II, June 16th 1944

Western Front (1944) - Battle of Normandy - D-Day +10

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, June 16th 1944



British troops in Normandy. They are trying to continue the advance north and northwest of Caen, supported by aviation.

Photo: U.S. Army vehicles roll ashore on one of the floating causeways of the "Mulberry" artificial harbor off "Omaha" Beach, 16 June 1944. The causeway had been erected by U.S. Navy SeaBees. Note the M3 half-track in the lead, towing a howitzer, and the Jeep behind it with a semi-circle marking painted on its grill



Photo: 6-pdr anti-tank gun of 50th Division covers a lane in the Lingevres area, 16 June 1944



King George VI of Great Britain visits troops in Normandy.

Photo: King George VI and General Montgomery on the beach at Courseulles shortly after the King's arrival in France, 16 June 1944



Photo: King George VI, accompanied by Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay and the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, touring the beaches at Normandy in a DUKW amphibious vehicle, 16 June 1944



In the Cotentin, the American progression continues. Collins’ 7th Corps progresses eastward while the 82nd Airborne Division moves north. The 9th Infantry Division, attached to the 7th Corps, liberates Orglandes. Other divisions heading east of Cotentin, such as the 47th and 60th infantry divisions, continue their progression.

Air War over Europe

The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies two missions. Mission 416: 370 bombers, including 22 Pathfinders are dispatched to four airfields and four CROSSBOW (V-weapon) supply sites in France; one B-17 is lost: Of 146 B-17 Flying Fortresses, 38 bomb Laon/Athies Airfield, 38 hit Juvincourt Airfield, 18 hit railroad targets of opportunity and 17 hit Laon/Couvron Airfield; one B-17 is lost. 224 B-24 Liberators are dispatched to bomb airfields and CROSSBOW sites; B-24s attacking V-weapon supply sites are: 48 hit Renescure, 44 hit Sautrecourt, 43 hit Domleger and 21 hit Beauvoir; airfields attacked are: 17 hit Beauvais/Tille, 17 hit Authe and 12 hit St Andre de L'Eure.

US VIII Fighter Command missions for the day are: 165 P-38s, 88 P-47 Thunderbolts and 172 P-51 Mustangs escort the bombers above, they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; no losses. 70 P-51s perform a sweep against stalled trains between Angouleme and Poitiers, dropping external fuel tanks on them and firing the tanks by strafing; the same tactics are used on trains in the marshalling yard at Saint-Pierre-d'Ecideuil; heavy damage is inflicted on both targets, including heavy troop casualties. 50 P-38s and 75 P-47s make fighter-bomber attacks on troops in the Arras-St Pol area; at St-Pol-sur-Ternoise a large number of railroad cars are burned by oil and phosphorus bombs and strafing attacks; other marshalling yards, a power station, railroad station, trains, barges, tanks, trucks, gun emplacements, AA tower and an armored vehicle are attacked; A total of about 400 railroad cars are attacked and about half of them set on fire. In general the fighter attacks are highly effective; three P-38s are lost.

Bad weather prevents bomber operations by the USAAF's Ninth Air Force based in England; 500+ fighters strafe and bomb rail lines, bridges and highway traffic on the Cherbourg Peninsula.

405 RAF aircraft - 236 Lancasters, 149 Halifaxes, 20 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups commenced the new campaign against flying-bomb launching sites with raids on 4 sites in the Pas de Calais area. All targets were accurately marked by Oboe Mosquitos and successfully bombed. No aircraft lost.

321 RAF aircraft - 162 Halifaxes, 147 Lancasters, 12 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups to attack the synthetic-oil plant at Sterkrade/Holten despite a poor weather forecast. The target was found to be covered by thick cloud and the Pathfinder markers quickly disappeared. The Main Force crews could do little but bomb on to the diminishing glow of the markers in the cloud. RAF photographic reconnaissance and German reports agree that most of the bombing was scattered, although some bombs did fall in the plant area, but with little effect upon production. Unfortunately, the route of the bomber stream passed near a German night-fighter beacon at Bocholt, only 30 miles from Sterkrade. The German controller had chosen this beacon as the holding point for his night fighters. Approximately 21 bombers were shot down by fighters and a further 10 by flak. 22 of the lost aircraft were Halifaxes, these losses being 13.6 percent of the 162 Halifaxes on the raid. No 77 Squadron, from Full Sutton near York, lost 7 of its 23 Halifaxes taking part in the raid. 25 Mosquitos and 1 Lancaster of No 8 Group to Berlin, 12 RCM sorties (the airborne Mandrel jamming screen was used for the first time on this night), 53 Serrate, Intruder and flying-bomb patrols, 8 Stirlings and 4 Halifaxes minelaying in the Frisians and off the Biscay coast. 1 Stirling RCM aircraft lost.

The USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy dispatches almost 600 bombers to attack targets in Austria and Czechoslovakia; B-17s attack the Kragan and Florisdorf oil refineries around Vienna; B-24s bomb the industrial area at Bratislava, Czechoslovakia and the Lobau and Schwechat oil refineries and Winterhafen oil depot in the Vienna area. Between 200 and 250 fighters attack the formations and 15 USAAF aircraft are shot down; the bombers and escorting fighters claim 70 aircraft destroyed.

Photo: On June 16, 1944 four waves of B-24 Liberator bombers of 98th, 376th, 449th and 450th Bombardment Group of Fifteenth Air Force (overall 158 planes) attacked Apollo refinery, winter docks and Stefanik's bridge across the Danube river in Bratislava, Slovakia



Continuation War

Commander of the Isthmus Troops Lt. Gen. Karl Oesch gives orders for the III and IV Corps to withdraw to the third Finnish line of defence (VKT-line) while delaying the enemy. Marshal Mannerheim orders the Olonets Group (Lt. Gen. Paavo Talvela) on the Olonets Isthmus (between lakes Ladoga and Onega) and the II Corps (Maj. Gen. Einar Mäkinen) on the Maaselkä Isthmus (between Lake Onega and White Sea) to start withdrawing back towards the 1939 border. German supplies start again flowing to Finland. To strengthen the Finnish AT-defences, more than 10,000 Panzerfausts are transported by motor torpedo boats and aircraft. Luftwaffe units and Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 303 together with the 122th Infantry Division are on their way. Six Finnish VMV Patrol boats surprise four enemy G-5 type motor torpedo boats at Halli. One of them is sunk and another captured.

Italian Campaign

The British X Corps liberate Spoleto, Italy.

Battle of the Atlantic

The unescorted 'Columbine' was torpedoed and sunk by 'U-198' 25 miles NW of Cape Castle, South West Africa. The master, 19 crewmembers and six passengers were lost.

United Kingdom

From a total of 144 V-1 bombs sent across the English Channel, 21 were shot down by fighters or AA fire and 73 reached the London area. During the next 10 days, an average of 100 V-1 bombs fell on England every 24 hours.

United States

Photo: Fantail of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Bush (DD-529) at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 16 June 1944



Photo: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3) underway on 16 June 1944. On deck are aircraft of Carrier Air Group 12 (CVG-12). Saratoga had arrived at Pearl Harbor from the Indian Ocean on 10 June and remained for several days before departing for Bremerton, Washington (USA), to begin an overhaul



Photo: The U.S. Navy high-speed transport USS Rathburne (APD-25) off the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Washington (USA), on 16 June 1944. She is painted in the green tones of Camouflage Measure 31, Design 12T



Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): 28 A-36s, P-51s and P-40s hit Myitkyina and targets of opportunity in N Burma. In India, 11th Combat Cargo Squadron, 3d Combat Cargo Group, based at Dinjan, sends a detachment to operate from Sookerating (attached to 443d Troop Carrier Group) with C-47s.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, air echelon of 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Fourteenth Air Force (attached to 23d Fighter Group), based at Chengkung, begins operating from Kweilin.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): B-25s, based on Makin hit Ponape Island.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA

Major General Ralph J Mitchell, USMC, becomes Commander Air North Solomons (COMAIRNORSOLS).

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Bombers and fighters hit widespread targets in the SWPA and in SOPAC. Personnel areas and barges along the coast in the Wewak and Hansa Bay areas are hit throughout the day; airfields and shipping at Efman and Samate and at Babo and Sorong are attacked. Lost is B-25D "Hell's Belles" 41-30019. Dublon Island in Truk Atoll and Yap are hit by B-24s. B-24s hit Vunakanau Airfield; B-24s, B-25s, A-20s and fighters attack a large variety of targets of opportunity on Gazelle from Tobera Airfield to Rabaul.

MARIANA ISLANDS AND PALAU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

US Fifth Fleet battleships under the command of Admiral Ainsworth shell Guam. Marines advance on Saipan taking Chaan Karoa and Point Afetna. This links the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions.

In response to the sighting of the IJN's First Mobile Fleet sailing from the Philippines towards the Mariana Islands by a U.S. submarine, Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, commander Fifth Fleet, orders that the antiaircraft screens around USN carriers be augmented by drawing additional cruisers and destroyers from fire-support and shore-bombardment groups. The entire burden of ground-support missions and on-call air-support is shifted from the fast carriers of Task Force 58 to the escort aircraft carriers of the Fifth Fleet.

Carrier-based aircraft of Task Groups 58.2 and 58.3 attempt to neutralize all of the airfields on Guam and Tinian. The airmen maintain that big guns should also be used against these targets but their suggestions are ignored.
A TBM Avenger from an escort aircraft carrier drops heavy weapons to a USMC infantry battalion on Saipan but the aircraft is too low and many weapons are damaged or destroyed.

Photo: Commander W.R. Kane, USS Enterprise air group commander, is returned to his ship after being shot down over Saipan while directing air strikes, 16 June 1944. Destroyer is USS Patterson (DD-392)



High speed transport Gilmer (APD-11), on radar picket duty 25 miles west of Saipan, encounters Japanese convoy of small cargo vessels (whose sailors are apparently unaware of the presence of American ships in the Marianas) bound for Saipan, and sinks four: No.1 Yusen Maru, No.2 Usen Maru, Toa Maru, and Tatsutaka Maru. Destroyer Shaw (DD-373), ordered to support Gilmer, arrives in time to sink a fifth ship, No.17 Yusen Maru.

IWO JIMA

Carrier-based aircraft from the USN's Task Groups 58.1 and 58.4 again mount attacks on Iwo Jima, in the Volcano Islands, and Chichi Jima and Haha Jima, in the Bonin Islands, during the afternoon. Targets include airfields, fuel supplies and barracks. Two F6F Hellcats and their pilots are lost. After the attacks, both task groups retire to the Mariana Islands.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 51, JUNE 16, 1944

Chichi Jima, and Haha Jima in the Bonin Islands and Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands were attacked by carrier aircraft on June 14 (West Longitude Date). Thirty‑three enemy fighters which attempted to intercept our forces at Chichi Jima were shot down. Four multi‑engined seaplanes were damaged at Chichi Jima. At Iwo Jima two airborne enemy aircraft were probably destroyed and 14 were destroyed on the ground.

One medium cargo ship was sunk by bombing at Chichi Jima, and four small cargo ships and six small craft were damaged. A medium transport, discovered underway near the Bonins, was heavily damaged by aircraft and later sunk by one of our destroyers. One hundred and twelve survivors were rescued and made prisoners of war.

Ground installations, including barracks, airfields, and fuel tanks were bombed by our aircraft.

Our losses were four aircraft and five flight personnel.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 51, JUNE 16, 1944

United States assault troops are engaged in bitter fighting against defend­ing forces on Saipan Island.

On June 14 (West Longitude Date) and during the night of June 14‑15 our troops were withdrawn a short distance toward the beach in some sectors in the face of intense mortar and artillery fire. Positions were consolidated and during the night our Naval forces carried out a heavy bombardment of enemy strong points.

On the morning of June 15 enemy resistance in the strongly held sector north of Charan Kanoa was broken. At midday a major element of our forces commenced an attack which advanced our line nearly one half mile in the southern sector of the island. Lesser advances were made in other sectors.

Our assumption that Saipan Island would be strongly held because of its strategic location in the Japanese defensive system has been proven correct. Preliminary estimates indicate there are upwards of two divisions of enemy troops defending Saipan.

PACIFIC

Battleship, cruiser, and destroyer force (Rear Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth) bombards Japanese installations on Guam.

Light cruiser Vincennes (CL-91) is damaged by materiel casualty (main Kingsbury thrust bearing, no.3 shaft), at sea with TG 58.4.

Destroyers Melvin (DD-680) and Wadleigh (DD-689) sink Japanese submarine RO-114, 80 miles west of Tinian, 15°02'N, 144°10'E.

Destroyer escort Burden R. Hastings (DE-19) sinks Japanese submarine RO-44, 110 miles east of Eniwetok, 11°13'N, 164°15'E.

Submarine Bluefish (SS-222) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking merchant cargo ship Nanshin Maru in the Celebes Sea southwest of Tarakan, Borneo, 02°22'N, 118°24'E.

Submarine Bream (SS-243) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Y_ki Maru and damages army cargo ship Hinode Maru off Halmahera Island, 02°23'N, 128°43'E.

Day 1743 of World War II, June 18th 1944

Eastern Front

The Germans launch a six-day sweep against partisans near Lublin.

Western Front (1944) - Battle of Normandy - D-Day +12

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, June 18th 1944



The first objective of the 7th American Corps is reached: the Cotentin Peninsula is cut in two along a line that connects Utah Beach to Barneville. The German forces defending the area of Cherbourg, the new objective of the 7th Corps, can no longer rejoin their lines to the south. They are condemned to no longer being supplied. There are nearly 40,000 in this critical situation. The Americans, on the other hand, maintained the pressure and bombarded continuously the German lines of defense which retreated hour by hour. The fighting is violent, although the morale of the defenders is at its lowest.

The American attacks directed northward are numerous below a line connecting Montebourg to the east, Valognes to the center and Les-Pieux to the east. The allied armada regroups offshore Cherbourg to support land forces as closely as they progress, and prepare the bombardments of fortifications protecting the city and its deep water port. To the east of Cotentin, the 4th American infantry division attacks in direction Montebourg.

On the British front, north and northwest of Caen, the fighting between the mechanized infantry divisions is still as violent and the fall of the capital of Calvados does not seem possible for several weeks. This situation is disastrous for the Allied airmen who do not have enough territory to install advanced landing grounds. On the other hand, the German armored divisions are attracted to the east of Normandy, thus freeing the Americans on the western front. Beginning on June 18th, a new battle of great magnitude, located in the vicinity of Tilly, is supposed to break through the front.

Air War over Europe

94 of 98 P-38s and 82 of 87 P-47s attack railroad bridges in the St Quentin area without loss. 47 P-51s make a sweep of the Dol de Bretagne area; three P-51s are lost).

US Eighth Air Force Mission 422: Nine B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions in France; a B-24 hits a tree at the drop zone.

In France, the USAAF's Ninth Air Force in England dispatches about 130 A-20 Havocs and B-26s to bomb fuel dumps at Foret d'Andaine and Conches and marshalling yards at Rennes and Meudon during the morning and NOBALL (V-weapon) targets in the afternoon; fighters, in addition to escort duty, continue strafing and bombing rail lines, troop concentrations, and highway traffic on the Cherbourg Peninsula.

In a period of bad flying weather, only 10 RAF Mosquitos could be sent to attack a large concrete flying-bomb storage building in the woods at Watten, near St Omer. 9 aircraft bombed but no details of the results are available. No aircraft lost. 5 Halifaxes and 2 Stirlings laid mines off Brest and St Malo.

Photo: Lancasters flying through flak to bomb German positions near Caen during a daylight attack, 18 June 1944



The battered aircraft of II./JG 1 left the bomb damaged airfield at Essay and transferred to Semalle. The airfield was very small with no accomodations, forcing the pilots to camp out at a nearby cemetary.

Continuation War

Soviet attacks breech the Finnish Main Defence Line and they advance towards Viipuri. The 4th Division and 3rd Brigade were repelling Soviet attacks in old positions in Summa, the famous battlefield of the Winter War. Leningrad Front's successes against Finland are recognized by promotion of its commander Army General Leonid Govorov to Marshal of the Soviet Union, and commander of the 21st Army Lt. Gen. D. Gusev to Colonel General. Six German AF barges are ordered to protect transports in Koivisto area. Securing patrol boat VMV 17 is destroyed by Soviet warplanes in Koivisto at Tiurinsaari Island. Six men lost.

Photo: Finnish anti-aircraft battery near Vyborg, 18 June 1944



Photo: Finnish soldiers on the construction of defensive structures in Karelia, 18 June 1944



Air War over Europe

The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies two missions. Mission 421: 1,378 bombers are dispatched to targets in Germany; eleven bombers are lost, ten to AA fire and one to unknown causes: Of 890 B-17s dispatched, 381 bomb Hamburg, 88 hit Hannover-Misburg oil refinery, 85 hit the Bremen area; 60 hit Hannover, 54 hit Hamburg-Eurotank oil refinery, 38 hit Hamburg-Ossag oil refinery, 36 hit Hamburg-Schindler oil refinery, 18 hit Bremen-Oslebshausen; 18 hit Hamburg-Ebano oil refinery and five hit targets of opportunity; seven B-17s are lost. Of 488 B-24s, 168 hit Hamburg, 107 bomb Bremerhaven, 58 attack the Watten V-weapon sites, France, 54 hit Brunsbuttel, 45 hit Stade Airfield, 28 hit Wesermunde, 13 hit Husum Airfield, nine hit Nordenham, eight hit Heligoland Airfield, five hit targets of opportunity and one hits Wrist marshalling yard; four B-24s are lost. Escort is provided by 198 P-38s, 172 P-47 Thunderbolts and 215 P-51 Mustangs.

The Me 163 unit, I./JG 400 reported eleven aircraft on strength, five operational.

Italian Campaign

The Allies capture Assisi.

In Italy, bad weather grounds medium and light bombers; fighter-bombers and fighters are restricted to patrols, mainly over the Piombino area and island of Elba, during which several gun positions, boats, and barges are hit.

Photo: A British soldier examining a knocked out German 88mm gun north of Rome. In the background an American lorry drives past, 18 June 1944



Photo: Allied Engineers Repair Bridges Demolished by Germans Retreating From Rome, 18 June 1944



Photo: An American Army Jeep passing a demolished bridge under repair by American Army Engineers, 18 June 1944



Battle of the Atlantic

'U-767' sunk in 230' of water in the English Channel, depth charged, 1 trapped gets out with Drager gear from bottom without an air lock, PoW.

SS 'Albert C Field' (1,764 GRT) Canadian Upper Lakes and St. Lawrence Transportation Co. bulk laker sunk by a torpedo in a dusk attack from a Luftwaffe JU-88 torpedo-bomber a/c, in the English Channel, position 50.28N, 001.46W. The ship was part of the twelve-ship Penarth, Wales, to Normandy beachhead convoy EBC-14. She was carrying a cargo of 2,500 tons of ammunition and 130 bags of US Army mail. The ship broke in half and sank quickly. Four crewmembers were lost from her 33 men. The British Western Isles-class armed trawler HMS 'HERSCHELL' rescued the survivors. The rescue was greatly assisted by the small red lights and whistles that had only recently been added to the standard life vests then in use.

United Kingdom

A flying bomb fell on the Guards Chapel at Wellington Barracks only yards from Buckingham Palace, during morning service today. The building was almost completely destroyed and 119 worshipers, half civilians, half servicemen, were killed. Another 102 were seriously injured.

Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): 16 A-36s, P-51s, and P-40s hit Myitkyina and Mogaung, Burma.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, B-25s and P-40s bomb Yoyang and hit shipping and boats in the Siang-Chiang River delta area; P-40s and P-51s attack about 100 supply boats in the lower Tungting Lake area, strafe cavalry forces between Siangyin and Changsha, and hit a village just E of Changsha.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): B-25s from Makin pound Nauru Island. B-24s stage through Eniwetok to bomb Truk.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In New Guinea, A-20s, B-25s, and fighters, along with RAAF aircraft, continue to pound supplies and occupied areas along the coast in the Wewak area; and 80th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, moves from Nadzab to Owi, Schouten Islands with P-38s. B-24s hit targets in Truk Atoll. A variety of fighter and bomber aircraft unload 18 tons of bombs on numerous targets around Rabaul, New Britain Island. Fighters continue sweeps against targets of opportunity along coastal areas of Bougainville Island.

MARIANA ISLANDS AND PALAU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

Off Saipan, battleship California (BB-44) is damaged by friendly fire; destroyer Phelps (DD-360), LCI(G)-371, and motor minesweeper YMS-323 are damaged by shore battery off Garapan, 14°58'N, 146°21'E.17 During Japanese bombing raid, oilers Neshanic (AO-71) and Saranac (AO-74) are damaged at 14°45'N, 146°10'E; oiler Saugatuck (AO-75) is near-missed.

Destroyer Phelps (DD-360), along with infantry landing craft (gunboat) [LCI(G)] and amphibian tractors [LVT(A)] oppose between 25 and 30 Japanese landing barges, southward-bound off Garapan, Saipan, sinking 13 and putting the rest to flight.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 55, JUNE 18, 1944

In the early morning of June 17 (West Longitude date) the enemy launched an amphibious counterattack against our forces on Saipan. A group of troop‑carrying barges attempted a landing south of Garapan, but were re­pulsed by our armed landing craft. Thirteen enemy barges were sunk.

PACIFIC

Motor torpedo boats PT-63 and PT-107 are destroyed by fire off New Ireland, 01°45'S, 150°01'E.

British submarine HMS Storm attacks Japanese convoy off Penang, Malaya, sinking gunboat Eiko Maru, 05°59'N, 99°10'E.

Day 1745 of World War II, June 20th 1944

Eastern Front

The Red Army masses 166 divisions and 5,000 tanks in Byelorussia, poised for Operation Bagration, a.k.a. the Belarusian Strategic Offensive Operation. The operation was named, by the Soviets, after Russian Gen. Petr Bagration, who died in the Battle of Borodino in September 1812, fighting against Napoleon’s forces. Four Soviet Army fronts participated in the offensive – 1st, 2nd, 3rd Belarusian as well as 1st Baltic – numbering all in all 2.6-million troops, 26,000 artillery pieces, 5,200 tanks. The Soviet Air Force brought to bear some 153,000 combat sorties on the enemy which amounted to an air campaign unprecedented throughout the previous course of war.

Western Front (1944) - Battle of Normandy - D-Day +14

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, June 20th 1944



The storm is still raging in the Channel. Allied meteorology specialists are planning a return to good weather within two days. The artificial ports of Arromanches and Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer are severely affected and repairs are expected to be numerous. Many small boats run aground or sink as a result of bad weather. Meanwhile, unloading of equipment necessary for the continuation of military operations is slowed down and British forces are obliged to progress very slowly.

On the other hand, the American forces continue their progression, difficult but continuous. The men of the 4th Infantry Division enter Valognes where hard street fights are taking place. The bombing of areas not controlled by American forces is continuing, while elements of the 12th Infantry Regiment reach Le Theil and its heights that dominate this region of the Cotentin Peninsula.

It now seems that the Germans are abandoning their positions to join the Cherbourg line of defense. General Collins, commander of the 7th American Corps, launches three additional divisions to the assault without the usual preparation of artillery. This offensive storms the last points of defense from Montebourg and allows American forces to access the gates of Cherbourg. The assailants advance using the “chip jumps” tactic which favors the progression in the Norman bocage.

The Americans discover, between Cherbourg and Valognes, near the town of Sottevast, a huge construction site abandoned since D-Day. It is a V-2 rocket launching base which had to reach 160 meters in length and 56 meters wide. Only one tenth of the base had been built until the landing began.

Photo: Knocked-out German Panther tanks on the outskirts of Lingevres, 20 June 1944



Air War over Europe

The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies three missions. Mission 425: In the morning 1,548 bombers, in five forces, are dispatched to attack 14 strategic targets in northern Germany and V-weapon sites in France; 49 bombers are lost. 126 B-24 Liberators bomb V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area; one B-24 is lost; escort is provided by 44 P-47 Thunderbolts; they claim 3-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; one P-47 is lost.

Mission 426: In the afternoon, 33 B-17s and 196 B-24s attack ten V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area; one B-24 is lost; escort is provided by 72 P-47s and 40 P-51s. 25 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions in France.

About 370 B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs of the USAAF's Ninth Air Force bomb nine V-weapon sites and a coastal defence battery at Houlgate; 1,000+ fighters operating over frontline areas, the Cherbourg Peninsula, and south to Dreux, bomb and strafe rail lines, marshalling yards, bridges, troop concentrations and other targets.

17 RAF Lancasters and 3 Mosquitos of No 617 Squadron attempted to attack a large, concrete covered V-weapon site in a quarry at Wizernes, but the target was cloud-covered and no bombs were dropped.

Hitler orders that all available fighters be sent to France to help stop the Allied invasion.

Of 341 B-17 Flying Fortresses dispatched, 137 hit Fallersleben, 95 hit Magdeburg/Rothensee and 52 hit Konigsberg; they claim 2-0-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; six B-17s are lost. Of 191 B-24s, 169 hit Hannover/Misburg and three hit a target of opportunity; one B-24 is lost; escort is provided by 98 P-38 Lightnings, 86 P-47s and 38 P-51 Mustangs and 81 Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claim 10-1-10 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 8-0-3 on the ground; one P-38, one P-47 and one P-51 are lost. Of 512 B-17s dispatched, 107 hit Hamburg/Eurotank oil refinery, 60 hit Harburg/Ebano oil refinery, 54 hit Hamburg/Schliemanns oil refinery, 53 hit Harburg/Rhenania oil refinery, 53 hit Hamburg/Deut.Petr.AG, 50 hit Hamburg/Rhenania-Ossag oil refinery, 26 hit Hamburg/Schindler oil refinery, 12 hit Brunsbuttel canal lock and two hit targets of opportunity; seven B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 96 P-38s and 48 P-47s. Of 358 B-24s, 245 hit Politz, 71 bomb Ostermoor and 12 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 10-3-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 34 B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 50 P-38s and 221 P-51s; they claim 28-1-9 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 5-0-9 on the ground; three P-38s are lost.

Continuation War

The Red Army captures Viipuri (Vyborg), the second largest city of pre-war Finland, and one of the main reasons Finland went to war in 1941. After the loss of Viipuri, it was Col. Kai Savonjousi's alertness that finally saved Finns from an even worse disaster. When he received the first news that the 20th Brigade was leaving the city, Col. Savonjousi, on his own initiative, sent troops to plug the gaping hole west of the city. On the next two days men of Col. Savonjousi's 10th Division repelled the first Soviet attempts to advance west from Viipuri. The first the Finnish GHQ hears of the loss of Viipuri, is when radio-intelligence captures a message from a Soviet tank commander, stating that he has just reached the center of the city. Col. Kemppi was later court-martialled, but cleared of all charges.

A heavy air attack to mine depot on Kirkonmaa Island sank two mine transporters and blow up the mine depot. About 600 mines and anti-sweeping devices were lost.

Italian Campaign

British troops take Perugia.

In Italy, weather continues to hamper operations but 60+ medium bombers manage to attack rail targets between Genoa and La Spezia; fighter-bombers destroy several road bridges in the battle area and to the N, and damage several other road and rail bridges as the Allies' rapid advance slows down due to the enemy's ability to strengthen his position and form a delaying line across Italy to the S of the Gothic Line (Pisa-Rimini) where he is prepared to make a stand.

Germany

Colonel Count Claus von Stauffenberg, a conspirator in a plot by high-ranking army officers to stage a coup against Hitler, is appointed chief of staff to General Friedrich Fromm, so gaining access to Hitlers headquarters.

Sweden

Photo: An American "Flying Fortress" has emergency landed at Bulltofta Airport in Malmö, Sweden and burns up after the crash. In the foreground the torned wing. A total of 21 US aircraft emergency landed, or crashed on Swedish territory in the provinces of Skåne and Halland, and five men of their crews were killed, while the others were taken care of by the Swedish military and Home Guard, 20 June 1944



Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 5 B-24s fly fuel to Kamaing; 2 B-25s hit a bridge at Banchaung; and 8 A-36s and 3 P-40s attack targets at Myitkyina. In India, 13 B-25s supply ammunition to Imphal; 20th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, based at Kisselbari, ceases operating from Dinjan with P-40s; and 315th Troop Carrier Squadron, 443d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Sookerating to Moran with C-47s.

In the China-Burma- India Theater, the unified Eastern Air Command (EAC), which has operational control of RAF and USAAF units in the CBI, is reorganized into six components:

1. EAC Strategic Air Force consisting of RAF and USAAF heavy bombers.
2. Third Tactical Air Force consisting of RAF and USAAF medium bombers.
3. Photographic Reconnaissance Force consisting of RAF and USAAF photo recon units.
4. Tenth Air Force consisting of USAAF fighter and troop carrier units and a combat cargo squadron.
5. RAF 239 Wing
6. Air Task Force consisting of the USAAF's 1st Air Commando Group and
3d Combat Cargo Group.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In the Yangtze River-Tungting Lake area of China, about 120 B-25s and fighter-bombers again attack a wide variety of targets, pound river shipping at numerous points, hit villages and supply lines in the Pinkiang area, and bomb the towns of Changsha, Pingsiang and Ikiawan; in the Salween River area 24 B-25s pound Lungling and 16 P-40s hit troops and positions at Tengchung and Chenanso; in the Yellow River area 8 P-40s pound railroad yards and strafe about 75 trucks, destroying20+ of them; 3 B-24s over the S China Sea attack shipping, claiming a 5,000-ton commercial ship sunk; and a detachment of 26th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group, moves from Liangshan to Kweilin with P-40s (squadron is based at Kunming).

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): B-25s from Makin strike Ponape Island. Kwajalein based B-24s bomb Truk Atoll. HQ 318th Fighter Group and 19th Fighter Squadron move from Bellow Field, Territory of Hawaii to Saipan Island with P-47s [the aircraft are launched from the deck of the USS Natoma Bay (CVE-62)].

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: A-20s, P-39s, and RAAF aircraft, pound areas along the coast in the general area of Wewak and B-24s bomb Kamiri Airfield; and 82d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves from Biak to Owi (squadron is operating from Saidor with P-39s). B-24s attack Woleai and Dublon in Truk Atoll. B-25s, P-38s and other Allied aircraft, including some of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, blast AA positions S and SW of Rapopo. Lost is F4U Corsair NZ5274.

BATTLE OF THE PHILIPPINE SEA

YouTube (Battle of the Philippine Sea - The US Navy Knocks Out The Japanese Carriers)

After destroying much of the Japanese Carrier's Air Arm in The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot yesterday, the US Navy launches a massed carrier bomber counterattack on the Japanese carriers.



The Japanese Fleet withdraws after yesterdays action against TF 58 off the Marianias Islands. They intend to refuel so they can continue their plan with the aircraft launched yesterday. They believe these planes have landed on bases in the islands. They are unaware of the actual losses.
Late in the afternoon, planes from TF 58 are attacking. The carrier Hiyo is sunk, a battleship and a cruiser are damaged. The returning US strike plans reach their carriers in darkness. Admiral Mischner orders the flight decks illuminated to assist their return. Although 72 planes are lost in addition to the 20 in combat; only 16 pilots and 33 aircrew are not rescued.

Photo: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-16) underway on 20 June 1944. Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless, Grumman TBF Avenger and Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat aircraft of Task Group 58.3 are flying overhead. This group was the only one with SBDs in this battle



Adding to the above: during the night of 19/20 June, the USN's Task Groups 58.1, 58.2 and 58.3 sailed westward to attack the Japanese First Mobile Fleet which has about 100 operation aircraft. The Americans launch carrier-based search planes at dawn in addition to PBM Mariners based at Saipan and PB4Y-1 Liberators based on Los Negros Island. The Japanese are finally located at 1540 hours by a Torpedo Squadron Ten (VT-10) TBM Avenger in USS Enterprise (CV-6) but the radio message from the aircraft is garbled. It isn't until 1605 hours that the position of the Japanese ships is pinpointed and at 1621 hours the carriers turned into the wind and launch 216 aircraft in just 11 minutes. The air strike consists of 84 F6F Hellcat fighters, 54 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers (VT-24 aircraft are the only ones carrying torpedoes; the rest have bombs), and 51 SB2C Helldiver and 26 SBD Dauntless dive bombers.

The Japanese ships are located at 1830 hours, 30 minutes prior to dusk. Due to their losses, only 35 fighters (Mitsubishi A6M Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters, Allied Code Name "Zeke") are airborne. The first ships sighted by the Americans are two oilers and two of them are attacked and so badly damaged that they were later scuttled. The aircraft carrier HIJMS Hiyo is attacked by four TBM Avengers of VT-24 in the light aircraft carrier USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) and the ship is hit by at least one torpedo and later sinks. U.S. dive bombers then attack the aircraft carriers Zuikaku and Junyo and the light aircraft carriers Chiyoda and Ryuho and the battleship Haruna; all five ships are damaged. U.S. losses are ten SB2Cs, six F6Fs and four TBMs.

By nightfall, the Japanese had lost three aircraft carriers and of the 430 aircraft available prior to the battle, only 35 are still operational. The Americans also have problems; their aircraft are 275-300 miles (443-483 km) from their carriers and they will be low on fuel when they arrive. The first aircraft return to their ships at 2045 hours on an exceptionally dark night. Admiral Mitscher, who always showed an unusual concern for his flyers, makes an unusual decision. He orders that all ships in the fleet turn on their lights and destroyers are to fire star shells during the two hours it takes to recover the aircraft. Despite these efforts, 35 SB2Cs, 28 TBMs and 17 F6Fs are forced to ditch at sea; all but 16 pilots and 33 aircrew are rescued.

At 2046 hours, the Japanese fleet is ordered to withdraw from the Philippine Sea the ships of Task Force 58 continue westward during the night of 20/21 June still hunting for the remaining Japanese ships.

Photo: View of aerial attack against Japanese ships by U.S. carrier aircraft during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, 20 June 1944



Photo: IJN 1st Mobile Fleet under attack on 20 June 1944



Photo: the Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku (center) and the destroyers Akizuki and Wakatsuki maneuvering, while under attack by U.S. Navy carrier aircraft, during the late afternoon of 20 June 1944. Zuikaku was hit by several bombs during these attacks, but survived



JAPANESE OCCUPIED PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

Submarines Narwhal (SS-167) and Nautilus (SS-168) land supplies and evacuate people from Negros and Panay, P.I.

MARIANA ISLANDS AND PALAU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

The US 27th Division begins clearing the south end of Saipan while the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions continue their advance north.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 58, JUNE 21, 1944

In the afternoon of June 19 (West Longitude Date) carrier‑based recon­naissance planes of the Fifth Fleet sighted a Japanese fleet, which included carriers and battleships, approximately midway between the Mariana Islands and Luzon. Aircraft of our fast carrier task force were immediately ordered to attack and made contact with the enemy fleet before dusk. Enemy losses and our own losses have not yet been assessed. Additional details will be made known as they become available.

In the ground fighting on Saipan Island, our assault troops made ad­vances in a northly direction along the western shore of Magicienne Bay and made progress against an enemy strong point at Nafutan Point. Severe fighting continues.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 452, JUNE 21, 1944

Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Four bombed Shimushu in the Kuriles before dawn on June 17 (West Longitude Date). Fires were started near the airfield. No opposition was encountered. Paramushiru Island was bombed by Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Four and Liberators of the Eleventh Army Air Force before dawn on June 19. Antiaircraft fire was meager and no attempt was made, to intercept our force.

Truk Atoll was attacked by Seventh Army Air Force Liberators during

daylight on June 19. Intense antiaircraft fire was encountered but there was no fighter opposition. Ponape Island was bombed by Seventh Army Air Force Liberators and Mitchells on June 19.

Mille, Maloelap and Wotje Atolls were bombed on June 19 by Corsair fighters and Dauntless dive bombers of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing, Ventura and Catalina search planes of Fleet Air Wing Two, Group One, and Navy Hellcat fighters.

PACIFIC

Destroyer Phelps (DD-360) is damaged by shore battery, Saipan, 15°10'N, 145°58'E.

Submarine Hake (SS-256) attacks Japanese convoy off south coast of Mindanao, and sinks army cargo ship Nichibi Maru in Saragan Strait, 05°36'N, 125°17'E.

USAAF A-20s raid New Guinea coastline, sinking Japanese fishing vessels Shinei Maru and No.3 Kompira Maru at Manokwari and No.31 Taikoko Maru at Windessi.

Day 1747 of World War II, June 22nd 1944

Eastern Front

Operation Bagration: The Red Army has chosen today, the third anniversary of the German invasion, to launch a massive assault on the Nazi forces occupying Byelorussia. It is called Operation Bagration, after the Czarist general who was mortally wounded fighting Napoleon at Boridino in 1812, and its object is nothing less than to destroy Hitler's Heeresruppe Mitte. Four Soviet fronts (1st, 2nd and 3rd Belarusian, and 1st Baltic) with 124 division, 1,700,000 men 2,700 tanks, 1,300 assault guns, 24,000 heavy artillery pieces, 2,300 rocket launchers, and 6,000 aircraft attack along a 450 mile front. German intelligence reports had given General von Busch, the commander of Heeresruppe Mitte, clear warning of the Russian buildup, but Hitler, relying on his "intuition", has been deceived by a Russian maskirova (disinformation) operation into believing that the Red Army was planning a double thrust in the south to the Romanian oilfields and Warsaw He was so sure that he had outguessed the Russians that he sent 48 infantry divisions and three Panzer divisions to Galicia, leaving von Busch's forces dangerously thin on the ground. The man and tanks he switched to the south have now been bypassed and are playing no part in the battle. The Red Army opened up with its customary overwhelming barrage from guns which were virtually wheel to wheel along the front. When the barrage lifted, hordes of T-34 tanks scurried towards the German defences, each followed by a tight group of infantry. Sturmoviks lurked overhead to pounce on strongpoints. The speed and punching power of the assault soon tore gaping holes in the attenuated German lines. General Bagramyan's First Baltic Front has made a double breakthrough against General Reinhardt's 3rd Panzer Army to isolate Vitebsk, and some 30,000 Germans are in danger of being surrounded.

Photo: Poland, Panzer V "Panther" on the field, 22 June 1944



Photo: Poland, Panzer VI (Tiger I) on the field, 22 June 1944




The Luftwaffe made a devastating attack on Poltava airfield last night, killing 26 crewmen of the US Eighth Army Air Force, and destroying 47 and severely damaging 26 Flying Fortresses, which have landed here after attacking a German synthetic oil plant. They had flown on to Poltava, one of three airfields made available by the Russians. But they had been shadowed by a German plane, and later 75 He-111s and Ju88s attacked. A fuel dump containing over two million litres of fuel exploded and the aircraft burst into flames. Because of the attack on USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17s at Poltava, USSR, on yesterday's shuttle mission, the B-17s at Mirgorod and P-51s at Piryatin are moved farther east; they are to be returned to Mirgorod and Piryatin to be dispatched to bases in Italy as soon as the weather permits; the move is fortunate as German bombers strike both Piryatin and Mirgorod during the night of 22/23 June.

Western Front (1944) - Battle of Normandy - D-Day +16

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, June 22nd 1944



The weather has improved significantly in the English Channel and in Normandy. The major repairs began in the artificial ports at Arromanches and Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer. But bad news reached the Allied high command: the port of Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer is out of use. Repairs do not allow re-use. The Allies decided to abandon the use of the Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer harbor and ordered the military engineers to do their utmost to repair and restore that of Arromanches.

The capture of the deep-water port of Cherbourg is becoming more and more urgent for the Allies.

US forces from the 22nd Infantry Regiment infiltrate Cherbourg from several locations and the fighting in the streets of the city continues. Strongly entrenched behind their lines of defense, they oppose a fierce resistance to the assailants. The Americans stop their progression and resume the bombing of the city, from the air with the bombers of the 8th and 9th Air Force, and from the sea with the artillery embarked on the ships off Cherbourg.

In the Bois de Bretel region, north of Saint-Lô, the 115th US infantry regiment’s “punch” operations continued at night against German defensive positions.

To the north and north-west of Caen, the fighting continues. Commonwealth forces are regrouping to begin operation Epsom to break the front line, once supplies from the artificial port of Arromanches can be transported to the front.

Air War over Europe

The Eighth Air Force in England flies four missions from England. Mission 431: In a morning mission 85 B-17s and 132 B-24 Liberators attack 12 CROSSBOW (V-weapon) installations in the Pas de Calais area; one B-17 is lost. Escort is provided by 165 P-47 Thunderbolts and 97 P-51 Mustangs; some of the support fighters strafe coastal defenses; a P-51 is lost. Mission 432: During the afternoon 797 bombers are dispatched to attack 22 targets in France and Belgium; nine bombers are lost: Of 319 B-17s dispatched, 76 hit Lille/Fimes marshalling yard, 69 hit Ghent/Maritime marshalling yard, 35 hit Rouen oil depot, 13 hit La Vaubaliers, 13 hit Furnes Airfield, 13 hit Tingry, 12 hit Abbeville, 12 hit a tank area north of Rouen, 12 hit Douai railroad, 11 hit Mazingarbe, ten hit Pont a Vendin and one hits Douai railroad; three B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 108 P-47s; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft. Of 149 B-24s, 46 hit Guyancourt/Caudron Airfield, 43 hit St Cyr Airfield, 36 hit Buc Airfield, 13 hit targets of opportunity and five hit Tours/La Riche bridge; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft. Escort is provided by 187 P-38s and 36 P-47s; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; five P-38s are lost. Of 216 B-17s, 70 hit Nucourt V-weapon site, 38 hit Brie-Comte-Robert Sug, 33 hit Etampes Airfield, 11 hit Lieusant railroad, 11 hit Melun bridge and 11 hit Melun marshalling yard; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; four B-17s are lost. Of 113 B-24s, 101 hit an oil dump at Paris and one hits Dreux Airfield; two B-24s are lost. Escort is provided by 78 P-51s; three P-51s are lost. Nine B-24s use Azon glide bombs against the Samur Bridge; escort is provided by 41 P-51s. Ten B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions in France during the night.

234 RAF aircraft - 119 Lancasters, 102 Halifaxes, 13 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 5 and 8 Groups to special V-weapon sites and stores. The sites at Mimoyecques and Siracourt were accurately bombed by 1 and No 4 Group forces with Pathfinder marking but the No 617 Squadron force attacking Wizernes failed to find its target because of cloud and returned without dropping its bombs. 1 Halifax lost from the Siracourt raid.

221 RAF aircraft- 111 Lancasters, 100 Halifaxes, 10 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4 and 8 Groups attacked railway yards at Laon and Rheims. 4 Halifaxes lost from the Laon raid and 4 Lancasters from the Rheims raid. The bombing at both targets was successful.29 Mosquitos to Hamburg and 8 to Rouen, 15 RCM sorties, 35 Mosquito patrols, 6 Halifaxes and 4 Stirlings minelaying off French ports. No aircraft lost.

Continuation War

German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop arrives in Finland to negotiate about military aid to be given Finns to keep them in the war. The Red Army renews its offensive west of Viipuri. Soviet forces try to cross the narrow straits just west of the center of the city but are repelled by Finnish artillery fire. Maj. Gen. Alonzo Sundman's 17th Division relieves Col. Kai Savonjousi's 10th Division west of Viipuri.

Italian Campaign

Following 5 consecutive days of bad weather, the USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy dispatches 600+ B-17s and B-24s to bomb targets in northern Italy; B-17s hit marshalling yards at Fornova di Taro, Modena and Parma; B-24s hit six marshalling yards and two bridges in Italy, an automobile factory at Turin and an automobile depot at Chivasso; fighters fly 250+ sorties in support of the missions.

United States

US President Roosevelt signs the "GI Bill". This will give a range of various benefits to returning veterans. Education and home loans are among the benefits included.

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Conklin (DE-439) underway at sea on 22 June 1944, about 11 km south-east of New York (USA). She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 22D. The photo was taken by a blimp of squadron ZP-12



Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 6 B-24s fly fuel to Kamaing while 40 B-25s supply Imphal, India with ammunition; 40 A-36s, P-51s and P-40s hit Mogaung and Myitkyina while 10 others hit targets at Hopin, Namma and Sahmaw.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 18 P-40s destroy 20+ trucks between Hsuchang and Lohochai; 4 P-40s damage a troop steamer in Tungting Lake; 13 B-24s bomb Bakli harbor, Hainan Island, damaging dock facilities and claiming 1 freighter sunk.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): B-24s, staging through Eniwetok from Kwajalein hit Truk Atoll; 1 bombs Ponape Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-25s, A-20s, and P-47s hit shipping at Efman and airfields and targets of opportunity on Noemfoor, attack Manokwari and hit villages in the Sarmi area; attacks by A-20s and fighters, along with RAAF aircraft, on the wide coastal area around Wewak continue; and HQ 317th Troop Carrier Group moves from Finschhafen to Hollandia. B-24s bomb Yap; Sorol Atoll, Caroline Islands; and Woleai. On New Britain, B-25s join the Allied aircraft in pounding Nordup and Ralum.

NEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN

The fighting for the island of Biak, New Guinea is essentially finished after the US attacks today.

MARIANA ISLANDS AND PALAU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

The 2nd Marines take Mount Tipo Pale and move on to Mount Tapotchau on Saipan. The 4th Marines are fighting east on the Kagman Peninsula.

Battleship Maryland (BB-46) is damaged by aerial torpedo off Garapan, Saipan, 15°13'N, 145°39'E; tank landing ship LST-119 is damaged by Tinian shore battery, Saipan, 15°10'N, 145°58'E; transport Prince Georges (AP-165) is damaged by near-miss of bomb off Saipan.

BURMA CAMPAIGN

The siege of Imphal is raised as advance units of the British 2nd Indian Division link with the British 5th Indian Division at mile 107 of the Imphal-Kohima road.

Amplifying the siege of Impal: The siege of Imphal is raised as advance units of the British 2nd Indian Division link with the British 5th Indian Division at mile 107 of the Imphal-Kohima road. The Japanese Fifteenth Army which invaded India in Operation U-Go has failed. Of the 100,000 Japanese who marched from Burma, 30,502 are dead and 23,003 wounded, at a total loss to the Allies of 2,700 killed and 10,000 wounded.

Imphal was under siege for three months. General Renya Mutaguchi sent three divisions of the Fifteenth Army against the Allies: the 33rd drove north from Tiddim, and the 15th and 31st attacked the Allied bases at Imphal and Kohima from the east. Against this the Allies mustered four Indian divisions under Lt-Gen Geoffrey Scoones. The 17th and 20th held the Imphal perimeter, and the 5th and 23rd hunted out the overstretched Japanese on the Imphal plain, hammering them against Imphal's anvil.

Allied control of the Imphal plain and the skies above it was backed by secure communications. Imphal has been supplied by air since April. Mutaguchi, however, refused to admit defeat at Imphal or Kohima, ignoring the realities of the field. Lt-Gen Kotoku Sato withdrew his 31st Division from Kohima on 3 June with no prospect of supply, it ran out of ammunition and food rations; he had refused Mutaguchi's demand to regroup and attack Imphal without even finding food. Sato's withdrawal freed two more Allied divisions for Imphal.

Mutaguchi has been ordering the 15th Division to mount ever more ambitious operations, simultaneously stripping its commander Lt-Gen Masafumi Yamauchi, of manpower until today he commands a mere battalion and a half. No wonder Yamauchi has spent much of his time writing despairing haiku poetry. The fighting has been close and bloody, with the besieging Japanese crawling over their dead to reach the trenches surrounding Imphal.

Outside, the battle swayed to and fro, the highest casualties on both sides suffered on the Ukhrul road and the Shenam Saddle. Conditions are appalling: heavy rain, mist and thick jungle have made transport and observations difficult. The Imphal to Kohima road itself is a single track overlooked by high ridges from which the Japanese launched a series of deadly attacks and stubborn defences.

The turning-point in the battle came on 17 June, when the Japanese abandoned Mao Songsan ridge, the first time that they had given up a position without a fight in the entire campaign.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 59, JUNE 22, 1944

1. During the attack by enemy carrier‑type aircraft on our ships on June 18 (West Longitude Date), 353 enemy aircraft were shot down of which 335 were destroyed by our carrier aircraft and 18 by our own antiaircraft fire. This is a revision of the estimate contained in communiqué No. 56.

Two of our carriers and one of our battleships received superficial dam­age. We lost 21 aircraft in combat.

2. The following information is now available concerning the attack of our carrier aircraft upon units of the Japanese fleet in the late afternoon of June 19 (West Longitude Date).

The enemy forces attacked consisted of: Four or more battleships, five or six carriers, five fleet tankers, and attached cruisers and destroyers.

On the basis of information presently available, our planes inflicted the following damage

One carrier, believed to be the Zuikaku, received three 1,000‑pound bomb hits.

One Hayataka Class carrier was sunk.

One Hayataka Class carrier was severely damaged and left burning furiously.

One light carrier of the Zuiho or Taiho Class received at least one bomb hit.

One Kongo Class battleship was damaged.

One cruiser was damaged.

Three destroyers were damaged, one of which is believed to have sunk.

Three tankers were sunk.

Two tankers were severely damaged and left burning.

Fifteen to 20 defending aircraft were shot down.

Our losses were 49 aircraft, including many which landed in the water at night and from which an as yet undetermined number of pilots and aircrewmen have been rescued. Search for others is continuing.

3. The engagement was broken off by the Japanese fleet which fled during the night toward the channel between Formosa and Luzon.

The Pacific Fleet units in these two actions were commanded by Admiral R. A: Spruance. The carrier task force was under the immediate tactical command of Vice Admiral M. A. Mitscher.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 60, JUNE 22, 1944

Our troops on Saipan Island have made further advances of more than a mile along the shoreline of Magicienne Bay to the town of Laulau and have advanced about a mile up Mount Tapotchau. The pocket of enemy resistance tat Nafutan Point has been reduced by one half, and our forces have gained the heights of Mount Nafutan on the east coast. Heavy pressure is being maintained night and day against enemy troop concentrations and defense works by our aircraft, Army and Marine artillery, and Naval gunfire.

At night on June 20 (West Longitude Date) several enemy aircraft dropped bombs near our transports and along shore but did no damage. Sporadic fire has been directed against our ships by shore batteries but the enemy emplacements have been quickly knocked out.

PACIFIC

Submarine Batfish (SS-310) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Nagaragawa Maru off Honshu, 34°36'N, 137°56'E.

Submarine Flier (SS-250) torpedoes Japanese army cargo ship Belgium Maru west of Mindoro, 13°11'N, 120°27'E.

Submarine Narwhal (SS-167) damages Japanese tanker Itsukushima Maru in Sulu Sea, 09°00'N, 120°55'E.

USAAF aircraft damage Japanese cargo vessel Shoyu Maru off Sorong Island.

Day 1749 of World War II, June 24th 1944

YouTube (The Greatest Pincer Movement in Military History)



Eastern Front

The strain on the German defenders is already evident on the second day of the Russian offensive. The Soviet offensive continues to roll forward with advances of 20-25 miles being common. Elements of 1st Baltic and 3rd Belarusian Fronts forces cut the Orsha-Vitebsk rail line and trap the German 53rd Corps (6 divisions). The Germans are ordered to conduct a breakout attack. 2nd Belarusian Front advances in strength on Mogilev.

Western Front (1944) - Battle of Normandy - D-Day +18

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, June 24th 1944



In Cherbourg, the American troops of the 7th corps continue their slow, bloody advance. But the defenses fall one by one. Destruction of the deep-water port of Cherbourg by the German soldiers is continuing and according to allied observers, it will take several weeks to put the port facilities back into service once the city is in the hands of the Americans.

The British and Canadians stopped for a few hours the advance east of Caen, to be refueled and reinforced by fresh troops, disembarked at Arromanches for most of them after the end of the storm in the Englsih Channel which destroyed the artificial port of Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer. Montgomery’s Epsom operation is scheduled to begin the following day, Sunday, June 25th. Nearly 60,000 men stand ready to launch the offensive towards the river Odon.

Photo: Activity on Juno Beach near Bernieres-sur-Mer as vehicles come ashore from LCTs, 24 June 1944



Destroyer HMS 'Swift' is mined (possibly acoustic) off Ouistreham which breaks her back. She later broke in half and sank. Location: English Channel, Seine Bay, Sword Beach area.

The Canadian-owned, British-registered merchantman 'Fort Norfolk' (7,131 GRT), struck a mine and sank off of the Normandy beaches in the English Channel. Eight crewmembers were lost in this incident.

HMCS 'Haida' (G63), Cdr. Harry George DE WOLF, DSO, RCN, CO, and HMS 'Eskimo' (G75), both Tribal-class destroyers, with a Czechoslovakian ‘Liberator’ 'O'patrol aircraft from Czech 311 Squadron, sank 'U-971', OLtzS. Walter ZEPLIEN, CO, in the English Channel north of Brest, in position 49-01N 05-35W. There was only one casualty from 'U-971’s' crew of 53 men.

Continuation War

In Olonets Isthmus the Red Army breaks through the defences of Finnish 15th Brigade this afternoon. The Finnish rear is also threatened by the Soviet invasion at Tuulos. Commander of the VI Corps Maj. Gen. Aarne Blick decides to leave the PSS-line and withdraw past the Tuulos bridgehead. In Maaselkä Isthmus the II Corps starts its withdrawal towards the Finnish border after the Soviet breakthrough at Karhumäki. The Red Army follows slowly, sticking to the few roads.

German 122nd Infantry Division arrives Helsinki and Hanko. It's transferred to western shore of the Bay of Viipuri. Commander of the German 122nd Infantry Division just arriving Finland was Generalmajor H. Breusing.

Air War over Europe

Of 340 B-17 Flying Fortresses, 213 hit oil industry targets in Bremen, 53 hit an aircraft factory at Westermunde and 40 attack Bremen; one B-17 is lost. Escort is provided by six fighter groups (185 P-38 Lightnings and 85 P-47 Thunderbolts); one group str afes an airfield and rail transport in the Munster and Hamm areas and claims 2-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground.

27 RAF Mosquitos to Berlin, 7 RCM sorties, 34 Mosquito patrols, 13 aircraft minelaying off French ports and in the Kattegat. 1 Mosquito lost from the Berlin raid.

407 B-24 Liberators are dispatched to France; 78 hit Conches Airfield, 45 hit Chateaudun Airfield, 45 hit Orleans/Bricy Airfield, 34 hit Toussus/Le Noble, 31 hit a fighter strip, 12 hit Pont Audmer, 11 hit Toussus/Paris and nine hit Dreux Airfield; two B-24s are lost. Escort is provided by 45 P-38s and 36 P-47s; a P-38 is lost; the fighters later fly strafing missions. 86 B-17s and 60 B-24s are dispatched to hit 12 CROSSBOW (V-weapon) sites in the Pas de Calais area but are prevented by overcast from bombing the sites, but 11 B-17s fly south and release bombs near the industrial area of Rouen; a B-17 is lost to AA fire. Escort is provided by 35 P-47s without loss. Of 74 B-17s dispatched to the Saumur bridge, 38 hit the primary and 36 hit Tours/La Riche Airfield without loss; escort is provided by 121 P-51 Mustangs who claim 4-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground.

US VIII AF Mission 439: During the afternoon 62 B-17s and 167 B-24s in two forces are dispatched to targets in France; two B-24s are lost; escort for the mission is provided by 71 P-47s and 50 P-51s without loss; 25 other P-51s fly a sweep of the Angers/LeMans area and claim 25-0-6 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground: Of 62 B-17s, 32 hit V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area, 12 hit Holque electrical stations and 12 hit Saint-Pol-sur-Mer marshalling yards. Of 167 B-24s, 67 hit V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area, 14 hit the Abbeville power station, 12 hit Pont-a-Vendin and 12 hit the Tingry electrical station; two B-24s are lost.

The USAAF's Ninth Air Force dispatches 430+ B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs to attack targets in France, including four gun positions, three V-weapon sites, three fuel dumps, two marshalling yards, and a railroad bridge; 200+ transports fly supplies to the Continent; 11 fighter groups provide escort, attack fuel dumps, rail targets and bridges west of Paris and south of the Loire, and fly armed reconnaissance south of the Cherbourg Peninsula and southwest of Paris.

321 RAF aircraft - 200 Halifaxes, 106 Lancasters, 15 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups attacked 3 flying bomb sites in clear weather conditions. All targets were accurately bombed; no aircraft lost. 16 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitos of No 617 Squadron bombed the Wizernes site and scored several hits with their Tallboy bombs. 1 Lancaster was shot down by flak, the first loss by the squadron for exactly 2 months.

739 RAF aircraft - 535 Lancasters, 165 Halifaxes, 39 Mosquitos - from all groups attacked 7 flying bomb sites, causing fresh damage at most of the targets. (The flying-bomb sites were now becoming so cratered by RAF, 8th Air Force and 2nd Tactical Air Force bombing that results for individual raids were becoming difficult to determine.) 22 Lancasters were lost from these raids; it was a clear, moonlit night and most of the bomber casualties were caused by German night fighters, often operating with the help of searchlights. It is not known why all of the casualties were Lancasters.

Italian Campaign

The USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy dispatches 335 bombers to attack targets in Romania; B-17s attack the railroad bridge at Piatra; B-24s bomb the railroad repair depot at Craiova and oil refinery at Ploesti; 33 P-51s sweep the Ploesti-Bucharest area while other P-51s, P-38s, and P-47s fly 220+ sorties in support of the bombers; the bombers and fighters claim 20+ aircraft shot down; ten US aircraft are downed and several others are missing.

Arctic naval operations

'U-1225' (Type IXC/40) is sunk northwest of Bergen, at position 63.00N, 00.50W, by depth charges from a Canadian Canso (Catalina) aircraft (RCAF-Sqdn 162/P). 56 dead (all crew lost). 'U-1225' is commanded by OLtzS. Ernst Sauerberg. 'U-1225' was a long-range Type IXC/40 submarine built by Deutsche Werft AG, at Hamburg. She was commissioned on 10 Nov 43. 'U-1225' was on her first patrol at the time of her loss and had not sunk or damaged any ships. OLtzS. Sauerberg was her only commanding officer. Flight Lieutenant David Hornell is shot down and killed in the battle. F/Lt. D.E. Hornell, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his conduct during the attack and afterwards while awaiting rescue in the dinghy, which did not occur until the afternoon of the next day. Three of the eight aircrew died of exposure. Although approximately thirty members of the 'U-1225’s' crew were also seen in the water after the attack, they all died of exposure and drowning.

United Kingdom

Allied leaders approve plans to resurrect Operation Anvil, the invasion of southern France.

United States

Photo: USS Mahan (DD-364), 24 June 1944



Photo: The U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Richmond (CL-9) off the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington (USA), 24 June 1944. Her camouflage is Measure 32, Design 3d



United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy escort carrier USS Bismarck Sea (CVE-95) underway at sea on 24 June 1944



Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 11 B-24s fly gasoline to Kamaing while 35 B-25s supply Imphal, India with ammunition; 60+ A-36s, P-51s, P-40s, and P-38s attack the Myitkyina, Mogaung, Mawlaik-Kin area, Pinbaw, and Hopin.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 60+ P-40s and P-38s bomb the towns of Siangsiang and Yuankiang, attack cavalry forces in the Hengyang area, and damage a pontoon bridge between Tungcheng and Pingkiang; 4 B-25s and a few P-40s knock out a bridge N of Chenghsien.

MARIANA ISLANDS AND PALAU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

The 27th Division has completed clearing the southern part of the island of Saipan. It is now ordered to join the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions in the fierce fighting in the northern part of the island. Elements of the 27th remain under Corps control.

Photo: Pilots of the 73rd Fighter Squadron, 7th USAAF, receive briefing on the flight deck of USS Manila Bay (CVE-61) prior to take off for Saipan, where they will be based. Planes are P-47s, 24 June 1944



PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): P-47s, based on Saipan, strafe the remnants of the enemy forces on the island and also hit forces left on Tinian Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In New Guinea, Fifth Air Force and RAAF aircraft continue to blast stores, personnel areas, roads, and bridges in the general area of Wewak; B-25s, A-26s, and A-20s hit enemy positions in caves E of Mokmer Airfield, attack shipping in the Babo area (on MacCluer Gulf), and bomb Kamiri and Kornasoren Airfield. B-24s, B-25s and fighters, along with other Allied aircraft, hit Tobera Airfield, AA guns at Vunapope, and buildings at Nordup.

IWO JIMA

US carriers Hornet, Yorktown, Bataan and Belleau Wood send strikes against the Bonins, Chichi and Iwo Jima.

Amplifying the above: Carrier-based aircraft of the USN's Task Group 58.1, the aircraft carriers USS Hornet and USS Yorktown and light aircraft carriers USS Bataan and USS Belleau Wood, attack Japanese airfields, fuel supplies and barracks on Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands. Over 140 IJN aircraft rise to challenge the attackers but USN F6F Hellcat pilots claim 116 enemy aircraft destroyed; ship AA fire downs others. After sunset, TG 58.1 retires towards Eniwetok Atoll.

ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): 3 B-24s at dawn bomb the area N of the airfield at Kurabu Cape on Paramushiru Island; later 2 B-25s fly a negative shipping search.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 62, JUNE 24, 1944

1. Carrier aircraft of the fast carrier task force swept Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands on June 23 (West Longitude Date). Sixty or more enemy air­craft of a force which attempted to intercept our fighters were shot down. Twelve of the enemy planes found our carriers and all of these were shot down by our combat air patrols. We lost four fighters. There was no damage to our surface ships.

2. Pagan Island in the northern Marianas was attacked by carrier air­craft on June 22. The following damage was inflicted on the enemy:

Four small cargo ships and one sampan, sunk.
Two small cargo ships and 12 sampans, damaged.
Four enemy aircraft destroyed and two probably destroyed on the ground.
A flight consisting of one twin‑engine bomber and five Zero fighters Inter­cepted some distance from our carrier force was shot down.
A wharf and fuel dumps at Pagan were destroyed and buildings and run­ways were damaged.

We lost one Hellcat fighter and one pilot.

3. United States Marines and Army troops are pushing ahead on Saipan Island and have made new gains along the northern shore of Magicienne Bay. Booby traps and land mines are being extensively employed by the enemy. Two enemy aircraft detected in the Saipan area were shot down by carrier aircraft of the fighter screen on June 21. Coastal guns on Tinian Island have intermittently shelled our ships at anchor of Saipan, but have done little damage. On June 23 the airfields on Tinian Island were heavily bombed and shelled.

4. The airstrip and buildings at Rota Island were attacked by carrier aircraft on June 22. A medium cargo ship at Rota was sunk by an aerial torpedo. Our planes received no damage.

5. Shimushu Island in the Kuriles was attacked by Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Four before dawn on June 23. In the Central Pacific, Army, Navy, and Marine aircraft continued neutralization raids on June 23 against enemy positions in the Marshall and Caroline Islands.

KWAJALEIN ATOLL

Photo: Aircraft of the 27th BS and 38th BS at Kwajalein in June of 1944



PACIFIC

Motor torpedo boat PT-193, irreparably damaged by grounding, western New Guinea, 00°55'S, 134°52'E, is burned by her crew.

Submarine Grouper (SS-214) attacks Japanese convoy off coast of central Japan, and sinks cargo ship Kumanoyama Maru and merchant tanker No.6 Nanmei Maru south of Yokosuka, 34°45'N, 139°30'E.

Submarine Redfin (SS-272) attacks Japanese convoy off southern coast of Leyte, and sinks army cargo ship Aso Maru southwest of Surigao Strait, 09°51'N, 125°06'E.

Submarine Tang (SS-306) attacks Japanese convoy leaving Koshiki Straits, and sinks army cargo ships Tamahoko Maru and Kennichi Maru, and merchant tanker Nasuzan Maru and cargo ship Tainan Maru outside Nagasaki harbor, Kyushu, 32°24'N, 129°38'E. Coast Defense Vessel No.1 does not prove fast enough to pursue Tang to counterattack.

Day 1751 of World War II, June 26th 1944

Eastern Front

The Red Army offensive continues as Vitebsk and Orsha fall to the 3rd Belarusian Front attacks. The German 53rd Corps at Vitebsk made an attempt to withdraw from the doomed position and lost 28,000 men in the effort. Mogilev fell to 2nd Belarusian Front. Meanwhile Bodruisk, defended by 40,000 Germans of the 41.Panzerkorps, was surrounded by 1st Belarusian Front. The first German reinforcements to the beleaguered Heeresruppe Mitte, the 5.Panzerdivision, began to trickle into Minsk. German General der Artillerie G. Pfeiffer VI AK is killed at Beresina.

Map: Operation Bagration: Battle of Witebsk, Development 22nd - 26th June 1944



72 US Eighth Air Force B-17s leave Poltava and Mirgorod, U.S.S.R., rendezvous with 55 P-51s from Piryatin, bomb the oil refinery and marshalling yard at Drohobycz, Poland (one returns to the USSR because of mechanical trouble), and then proceed to Italy; Fifteenth Air Force P-51s meet the formation 1 hour after the attack and escort the B-17s to Foggia; it is planned to return the B-17s to bases in the UK on 27 June but bad weather delays this move until 5 July.

Western Front (1944) - Battle of Normandy - D-Day +20

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, June 26th 1944



Operation Epsom begins west of Caen, and the 49th British infantry division succeeds in seizing the village of Fontenay-le-Pesnel, 10 kilometers west of Caen, after heavy fighting against the Hitlerjugend division. Close to this village, the British are struggling to free the town of Raurey.

Photo: 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division, waiting at their start line on 26 June 1944 for the signal to advance



Photo: Infantry of the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers, 15th (Scottish) Division, in action in a sunken lane during Operation 'Epsom', Normandy, 26 June 1944



The 15th Scottish infantry division, supported by Churchill tanks from the 31st British Armored Brigade, is also attacking. Saint-Manvieux-Norrey, located near Carpiquet and its precious aerodrome, is liberated by the 44th Lowland Brigade of Scotland after furious fights that sometimes end in hand-to-hand fight. The locality of Cheux, directly southwest of Saint-Manvieux-Norrey, is liberated in the wake of the 2nd Glasgow Highlander belonging to the 15th Scottish infantry division. The 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers faces the fierce resistance of the Hitlerjugend units.

Photo: An ammunition lorry of 11th Armoured Division explodes after being hit by mortar fire during Operation 'Epsom', 26 June 1944



Photo: Men of the 10th Highland Light Infantry advance past vehicles of 15th (Scottish) Division during Operation 'Epsom', 26 June 1944. On the left are two Sherman Crab flail tanks



German general Rommel, who understands the strategic importance of the village of Cheux, located at a crossroads of several other villages, ordered the various SS troops to leave the area of ​​Saint-Lô to rescue the soldiers of the Hitlerjugend, submerged by the Scottish infantry. But the allied aerial superiority is such that no important German movement is possible during the day, under penalty of being mercilessly bombarded.

Photo: Infantry of 'B' Company, 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers, 15th (Scottish) Division, advance during Operation 'Epsom' in Normandy, 26 June 1944



Photo: Universal carriers of 15th (Scottish) Division during Operation 'Epsom', 26 June 1944



The British 8th Corps must at all costs take over hill 112, a height that dominates a large part of the Odon region. But this strategic position is strongly defended by the Germans who refuse to abandon the key point of the region. The first British assaults resulted in failures and the Allied ships intervened to support the troops of the 8th Corps by bombing hill 112. The Scots resumed their march, supported by naval artillery and tried to break through the German defenses.

Photo: Sherman tanks of 11th Armoured Division advance alongside a wood, 26 June 1944. The tapes indicate the lane is free of mines



Photo: Sherman tanks of 29th Armoured Brigade, 11th Armoured Division assembling during Operation 'Epsom', 26 June 1944



Photo: A Cromwell command tank, named 'Taureg II', of 11th Armoured Division HQ leads a Centaur OP tank with dummy gun and two Shermans during Operation 'Epsom', 26 June 1944



In the Cotentin Peninsula, the Americans accepted the surrender of the general commanding the city of Cherbourg, Lieutenant-General von Schlieben, who accompanied Admiral Hennecke from the Fort du Roule strongpoint. But the city, if officially liberated, is not entirely under control and many points of resistance continue to fight American troops. The civilian population, although harshly tested by bombing and fighting, exults and welcomes its liberators.

Continuation War

Battle of Tali-Ihantala: In the early morning hours, the Armored Division continues its counter-attack towards Tali west of Lake Leitimonjärvi. But the most ambitious counter-attack is the attempt to encircle the Soviet spearhead east of Lake Leitimonjärvi by cutting it at the base. If succesful, two Soviet divisions (the 46th Guards and 286th) would be encircled in a large pocket north of Lake Leitimonjärvi. The Finnish attacks were uncoordinated and ultimately too weak to attain the ambitious goal, and no reinforcements were available. In afternoon the Red Army begins to attack on both sides of Lake Leitimonjärvi, trying to recapture the Portinhoikka cross-roads and reach the road from Portihoikka to Ihantala. More to north, a Soviet force reaches the Portinhoikka-Ihantala road later in the evening, cutting the road behind the Finns in Portinhoikka. As reinforcements reached Ihantala, Finnish artillery was to become a truly destructive force in the later phases of the battle. Also the Red Air Force didn't have an undisputed control of the skies. Finnish bombers of Lt. Col. Birger Gabrielsson's Aviation Regiment 4 are active today bombing Soviet troop-concentrations, together with Oberstleutnant Kurt Kuhlmey's German Stukas. Elsewhere in the Karelian Isthmus, on Lt. Gen. Hjalmar Siilasvuo's III Corps's right flank, the Red Army tries to eliminate the bridgehead Maj. Gen. Armas-Eino Martola's 2nd Division has south of River Vuoksi at Vuosalmi. The Soviet attempts are repelled with the help of artillery.

Air War over Europe

35 RAF Mosquitos of No 8 Group attacked Göttingen with the intention of hitting railway workshops. The raid was carried out from medium altitude - 4,000 to 10,000ft - but the marker aircraft experienced difficulties in locating the target and bombing was scattered. 1 Mosquito lost. This may have been an experimental raid, to try out the No 8 Group Mosquitos a precision bombing role, but this type of operation was not repeated.

Italian Campaign

French troops push forward north of Radicofani and on their right flank the South African armoured units take Chiusi.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Drayton (DD-366) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 26 June 1944. The ship is painted in Camouflage Measure 31, Design 23d



Photo: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) underway in Hampton Roads, Virginia (USA), 26 June 1944



Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): 30+ B-25s fly ammunition to Imphal, India. 80+ A-36s, P-51s, and P-40s pound Myitkyina; 7 other fighter-bombers hit Waingmaw, Loilaw, and Pyindaw.

BURMA

Subadar Netrabahadur Thapa (b.1916), 5th Gurkha Rifles, led the defence of a hill post. With many of his men casualties, he fought with grenades and kukri until he was killed. (Victoria Cross)
Naik Agansing Rai (b.1920), 5th Gurkha Rifles, led his men in capturing two machine-gun nests and alone, wiped out a bunker. The Japanese fled, allowing another position to fall.

CHINA

Japanese forces smash Chinese Tenth Army defences to capture Hengyang airfield from the US.

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 14 B-24s blast Hankow, causing heavy damage and fires; 180+ B-25s and fighter-bombers attack river shipping and several villages in the Tungting Lake area; the towns of Yuankiang, Sinshih, Siangtan, Liling, and Hengshan are bombed, as is the warehouse area at Yuhsien; numerous troop and truck concentrations and other targets of opportunity throughout the entire region are attacked; in the Salween area 14 B-25s and 36 P-40s knock out a bridge at Tingka, damage another near Mangshih, bomb military installations at Tengchung, strafe Japanese positions at Lungling, and hit targets of opportunity between Lungling and Tengchung; the Japanese bomb Lingling Airfield, damaging the runway and destroying a P-51; and the flight of the 21st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Fourteenth Air Force, operating from Suichwan with F-5s returns to base at Kunming.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): Saipan Island-based P-47s continue to hit enemy forces remaining on Saipan and Tinian Islands while P-61s carry out night patrols over Saipan. B-25s from Makin pound Ponape Island and Nauru Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s bomb targets on Yap and Sorol Atoll; others on armed reconnaissance bomb airstrips at Woleai and Peleliu Airfield. AAF and other Allied aircraft hit airfields, AA positions, and other targets in the Rabaul and Cape Orford areas. The Wewak area is hit throughout the day by Fifth Air Force B-24s and P-39s, along with USN and RAAF aircraft; P-38s, P-47s, A-20s, A-26s, B-24s, and B-25s attack airfields, shipping, villages, town areas, roads, and numerous other targets at Efman, Noemfoor, Japen, and Biak, at Manokwari and Ransiki, and near Sarmi; 9th Fighter Squadron, 49th Fighter Group, moves from Hollandia to Biak Island with P-38s; and 419th Night Fighter Squadron, 18th Fighter Group, based on Guadalcanal sends a detachment to operate from Nadzab with P-61s.

MARIANA ISLANDS AND PALAU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

Infantry landing craft (gunboat) LCI(G)-438 and LCI(G)-456 repel attack by Japanese barges (some of which fire torpedoes) off Tanapag Harbor, Saipan, but both gunboats are damaged in the battle. Elsewhere off Saipan, cargo ship Mercury (AK-42) is damaged by low- flying Japanese aircraft that flies into cargo boom, and is hit by dud aerial torpedo, 15°10'N, 145°58'E.

ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): 12 B-25s fly three 4-plane air cover missions for a Naval task force on withdrawal following shelling of Kurabu Cape installations on Paramushiru Island.

JAPAN - KURILES

In the Kurile Islands, cruisers and destroyers of the USN's Task Force 94 bombards Kurabu Zaki on Paramushiru Island for 13 minutes, firing over 1,000 rounds of 5-inch shells into aircraft revetments, assorted buildings and the runways. Postwar documents reveal that eight aircraft were destroyed, seven heavily damaged and 16 damaged by the bombardment. TF 94 is covered by 12 Eleventh Air Force B-25's in three flights.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 64, JUNE 26, 1944

United States Marines scaled Mount Topatchau on June 24 (West Longi­tude Date) and have established positions near its summit. Further ground was gained along the western shore, and more of the southern portion of Garapan fell to our forces. Simultaneously, substantial gains were made along the eastern shore, and the gagman Peninsula is now entirely in our hands. In the center of our lines progress was slowed by enemy troops occupying caves in cliffs overlooking our positions. Our troops have advanced beyond and surrounded this pocket of resistance, and it is being subjected to artillery fire at close range. In the south, small gains were made against enemy troops cornered on Nafutan Peninsula. In these operations three coastal defense guns were captured on Kagman Peninsula. To date our forces have destroyed 36 enemy tanks and captured 40 more.

Guam and Rota Islands in the Marianas were attacked by aircraft of our fast carrier task force on June 24 (West Longitude Date). At Guam, six enemy aircraft were destroyed on the Orote Peninsula airfield, and two were probably destroyed: Runway revetments were bombed. A large cargo vessel in Apra Harbor, damaged in a previous strike, was attacked again. Several tons of bombs were dropped on the airstrip near Agana Town, and one enemy plane was destroyed on the ground and eight to ten were damaged. At Rota Island, revetments and buildings were bombed, and fires started. Two enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground.

Paramushiru and Shimushu in the Kurile Islands were bombed by Libera­tors of the Eleventh Army Air Force and Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Four before dawn on June 24, starting large fires. Intense antiaircraft fire was encountered. All of our planes returned.

Dauntless dive bombers and Corsair fighters of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing and Navy Hellcat fighters continued neutralization raids in the Marshalls on June 24.

PACIFIC

British submarine HMS Truculent attacks Japanese convoy, sinking cargo ship Harugiku Maru about 60 miles southeast of Medan, Sumatra, 03°15'N, 99°46'E.

USAAF P-38s sink Japanese army cargo ship Hokushin Maru east of Halmahera Island, 01°03'N, 131°08'E.

USAAF B-25s sink Japanese fishing boat No.1 Daisen Maru off Manokwari.