Air Operations, Bismarcks

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack the Cape Hoskins airfield on New Britain. B-25s attack occupied villages, motor vehicles, and barges on New Britai. 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s support US Marine ground forces at Cape Gloucester.
• 49 AirSols fighters stage through the Torokina airfield on Bougainville to sweep the Rabaul area.
• 348th Fighter Group P-47s down 10 D3A 'Val' dive bombers and 19 fighters in the Arawe area between 0830 and 0900 hours. 8th Fighter Group P-40s down 3 A6M Zeros near Arawe at 0840 hours. 2 VF-33 F6Fs down a Zero over Rabaul at 1140 hours. Marine Corps F4Us down 14 Zeros and a Ki-61 'Tony' fighter in the Rabaul area between 1005 hours and noon.

Air Operations, CBI

• 10 14th Air Force P-40s attack the airfield at Pailochi, rail facilities at Yoyang, and a river boat.
• 36 Japanese bombers and fighters attack Suichwan airfield. One B-25 and base facilities are destroyed.
• P-40s from the 23d Fighter Group’s 76th Fighter Squadron down 5 A6M Zeros over Suichwan at 1145 hours. 1 P-40 is lost.

• 4 14 Air Force P-40s attack the airfields at Dong Cuong and Phu Tho.

Air Operations, Europe

• XII Air Support Command A-36 s attack port and rail facilities at Civitavecchia, several gun emplacements and troop positions along the battle lines, a factory, a rail line, and a bridge.

• XII Air Support Command B-25s attack a ship near Zara.

• 15th Air Force B-26s attack two viaducts, but they are prevented by bad weather from attacking the marshalling yards at Poggibonsi.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack Alexishafen, B-25s attack Madang and coastal targets on the Huon Peninsula, and V Fighter Command P-47s strafe road traffic near Bogia.
• Guided by an RAAF light bomber, 3rd Air Task Force P-40s armed with 500-pound bombs mount a precision bombing attack against an important Japanese Army strongpoint on Shaggy Ridge that has been holding up an Australian Army force charged with completely securing the Dumpu area.

Air Operations, Solomons

42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the seaplane anchorage at Buka, supply dumps at Kahili, a bivouac at Kieta, and antiaircraft batteries. US Navy PVs attack barges and more than 70 AirSols SBDs and 16 P-38s attack antiaircraft batteries at Buka.

Bay of Biscay

The German blockade runner Alsterufer is sunk in the Bay of Biscay by Allied aircraft.

CBI

Brig-Gen Lewis A. Pick opens the Ledo Road to Shingbwiyang in the Hakawng Valley.

Eastern Front

In the Vitebsk sector troops of the Western Front under Gen Vasili D. Sokolovsky reach the Vitebsk-Polotsk railway.

The 1st Ukraine Front under Nikolai F. Vatutin pushes on, re-taking from the enemy the positions lost in the Korosten area.

After heavy fighting elements of the XLVIII Panzer Corps partially stabilize the Zhitomir sector. Hoth, using the XLVIII as his fire-fighting unit, directs the corps to the Berdichev sector, but the constant fighting inflicts a terrible price on the combat units, the corps being down to just 150 tanks.

Indian Ocean

The US freighter Jose Navarro, bound for Calcutta, India, is torpedoed by U-178 and abandoned. There are no fatalities among the 46-man crew or 34-man Armed Guard. They are rescued the next day by the Indian navy minesweeper Rins Rajputana.

Italy

Ortona falls to the Allies after 2 weeks of house-to-house fighting in the Italian city.

New Britain

The 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 1st Marines, reinforced with tanks, move toward Cape Gloucester airfield with difficulty. The weather and the ground prove more of a problem than the Japanese. The narrow trail and heavy jungle limits movement. The 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, consolidates positions on Target Hill, a small hilltop that is valuable as an observation point and controls any movement of troops along the shoreline.

In response to a request from Gen Cunningham, an infantry company from the 158th Infantry Regiment lands on Arawe to reinforce the 112th Cavalry which makes them fairly secure against counterattacks.

New Guinea

The Australians capture 'Pimple Hill' on the Huon Peninsula.

Pacific

• The US submarine Flying Fish (SS-229) sinks the Japanese fleet tanker Kyuei Maru (10,171t) southeast of Tainan City, Formosa.
• The US submarine Ray (SS-271) sinks the Japanese fleet tanker Kyoko Maru (5792t) west of the Celebes.

Images from December 27, 1943

US Troops Tow an Artillery Weapon

Looking Over a North American P-51 'Mustang'

German Cargo Ship Alsterufer

Royal Artillery Gun Crew

German Machine Gun Squad