Air Operations, Bismarcks

• More than 120 V Bomber Command B-24s, B-25s, and B-26s attack Japanese Army ground troops at Cape Gloucester. In one notable mission, made at about 0900 hours, 54 B-24s attack tactical targets in close proximity to US Marine ground forces with 156 tons of 500-pound bombs dropped from 10,000 feet. These B-214s are followed closely by numerous B-25s, which drop 300- and 500-pound bombs on Japanese defenses in the same area.
• Almost without opposition, and thanks in large measure to support provided by V Bomber Command bombers, US Marine ground troops advancing through torrential downpours capture the Cape Gloucester airfield on New Britain.

Air Operations, CBI

• 4 14th Air Force P-40s attack rail facilities and the town area at Hsipaw, rail lines between Hsipaw and Hopong, and rail facilities at Hopong.

• 3 11th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack shipping on the Yangtze River.

Air Operations, Europe

• 712 planes are dispatched to Berlin including 457 Lancasters, 252 Halifaxes and 3 Mosquitoes. 45 aircraft abort. The time over the target is 19:58-20:18. The total bomb tonnage is 2,222 tons - 1,026 tons of high explosives and 1,196 tons of incendiaries. 20 planes are lost, 11 Lancasters and 9 Halifaxes. Aircrew casualties are 81 killed, 53 POWs and 1 evader. 43 aircraft are involved in minor operations with no losses.
• There are 2 diversionary raids in the hopes of drawing off some of the night fighters from the main raid, the first is on Magdeburg and the second on Leipzig. The main force reaches Berlin in good order having only lost 7 or 8 due to cloud cover over the night fighter airfields which limited them to only the most experienced fighters. The two diversions also confuse them so they arrive at Berlin when the raid is almost over. The raid is classified as a failure as the bombs are scattered over a huge irregular area 12 miles on a side. More bombs are dropped south of the city and most of the bomb loads outside the city limits. 182 people are killed and 10,800 are bombed out. The bombing results are disappointing for the enormous expenditure of bombs, fuel, aircraft flying hours and crew fatigue.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-24s attack line-of-comminication targets and bivouacs near Sio and mount a light attack against Manokwari.

Eastern Front

The Soviets take Korosten and Chernakov northwest of Kiev, and Skvira to the southwest. A new Russian offensive is under way in the Dnieper Bend, west of Zaporozhe. Marshal Vatutin begins a spectacular breakthrough along a 185-mile front west of Kiev. 22 German divisions are hurled back toward the Polish border.

The XLVIII Panzer Corps pulls back from the Berdichev sector to shorten its line. Korosten falls to the 60th Army and Skvira to the 40th Army. Zhitomir is isolated by the 3rd Guards Tank Army. Elements of the XIII Corps, trapped in the town, try to break out but encounter strong Soviet forces and are held back.

The SS Leibstandarte Div, operating in the Kazatin sector, is attacked by a force of 140 Red Army tanks. In the subsequent battle 68 Red Army tanks are destroyed.

Italy

An Allied Commando unit carries out a raid on the Tyrrhenian coast north of the mouth of the Garigliano.

New Britain

The Marines seize the Japanese airfield at Cape Gloucester with unexpected ease.

Fresh Japanese attacks against the Arawe beachhead have no more success than the earlier ones.

New Guinea

The operation for the occupation of Saidor in provisionally fixed for January 2, 1944.

Vichy France

Reprisals against 'terrorists' continue. The Vichy government announces that more than 20,000 people have been arrested in the last 3 months.

Images from December 29, 1943

A member of 9 Commando checks his rifle after a raid on enemy positions on the River Garigliano on the night of 29/30 December 1943.

Commando Checks His Rifle

US Soldiers Serve Dinner to Italians in Italy, 29 December 1943

Marines on a Mission to Capture the Air Strips near Cape Gloucester, December 29 1943