Air Operations, Bismarcks

• 12 XIII Bomber Command B-24s, escorted by many AirSols fighters, attack Rabaul's Vunakanau airfield.
• More than 30 V Bomber Command B-24s attack Kavieng and the Panapai airfield on New Ireland. More than 40 V Bomber Command B-25s and 10 Patrol Wing 17 PBYs attack a convoy at sea off New Hanover.

Air Operations, CBI

• 490th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s and 10th Air Force P-51s attack locomotives at Ktaingkwin. P-51s and A-36s attack bivouacs, troop concentrations, and dumps at Kamaing, Myitkyina, Tonkin, and Walawbum.

• 2 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack bridges at Yen Bay and along the coast.

Air Operations, East Indies

19 380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s and V Bomber Command B-25s attack Halong, Celebes.

Air Operations, Europe

Another bombing raid on Berlin involves 891 aircraft. 43 fail to return. In his post-raid report, Goebbels will employ the unusual tactic of playing up the amount of damage caused in the hope that the Allies will think that the city is no longer an important target.

Air Operations, Marshalls

• US carrier aircraft from Task Group 58.4 and Task Group 53.6 begin the final pre-invasion aerial bombardment of the Eniwetok Atoll and obtain photographic coverage of projected invasion areas. The Engebi airfiel on Eniwetok is put temporarily out of action and an estimated 14 Japanese Navy aircraft are destroyed on the ground.
• 12 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Maloelap and Wotje atolls. 531st Fighter-Bomber Squadron A-24s attack the Mille Atoll. 15th Fighter Group P-40 fighter-bombers mount two separate missions against the Jaluit Atoll.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Fighter Command P-40s attack barges and ships in the Wewak area.

Air Operations, Solomons

A VMF-217 F4U downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber near Buka Island at 1530 hours.

Burma

Skirmishing occurs in the Arakan area and near the Chinese border.

Diplomatic Relations

A Finnish diplomat arrives in Stockholm to receive terms for an armistice from the Soviet ambassador, Mme Alexandra Kollontay.

Eastern Front

In the northern sector the Russian offensive thrust is resumed after some slackening due both to German defense and to ground conditions.

In the Ukraine, west of Cherkassy, 7 German divisions manage to escape from encirclement in the Korsun-Shevchenkosky area. The 1st Panzer Army is largely responsible for the successful operation, thanks to which the Germans succeeded in bringing 30,000 of the 50,000 men in the pocket back to safety.

Leading tanks of the III Panzer Corps reach Oktyabr and in heavy fighting take the village. Inside the pocket, the 57th and 88th Infantry Divisions take up their positions to the rear of Group Stemmerman. These 2 divisions cover the escape of the rest of the group. At 2300 hours Stemmerman begins his attack. Bitter fighting erupts as the Germans smash through the Soviet ring, sheer desperation winning through in the end. Large number so men, fighting 7in independent groups, push west through the slush and mud toward the III Panzer Corps. However, Russian resistance pushes the escaping forces away from the III Panzer.

Italy

The Germans begin a major attack on the Anzio beachhead. Units of 5 divisions attack the relatively fresh 45th US and 56th British Divs. The Germans make limited gains against the US 3rd Div but suffer heavy personnel and tank losses. The Luftwaffe has gathered its strength as well, operating in support of the attack and against the shipping offshore. The ammunition ship Elihu Yale blows up after one such attack. There is no decisive breakthrough on land but the Allied forces are pushed back almost to the line of January 29. The German losses, however, are too heavy for an exhausted army and Kesselring orders the offensive to be suspended. In the Cassino sector the attacks by the New Zealand Corps continue.

Marshalls

The carriers of Adm Samuel P. Ginder's TG 58.4 attack Eniwetok once more. A few batteries and 14 enemy aircraft are destroyed. The Japanese airfield on Engebi is virtually put out of action.

New Britain

US Army and Marine units converge at the Itni River, effectively securing all of the western part of New Britain.

Pacific

• The Japanese light cruiser Agano is sunk by the US submarine USS Skate (SS-305) in the Central Pacific area.
• The Japanese submarine chasers Nos. 16 and 39 are sun by US Army aircraft north of New Ireland.

Images from February 16, 1944

Japanese ships in Truk Lagoon under attack, 16 February 1944. Eten Island is at right. The photo was taken from a US Navy Grumman TBF Avenger of Torpedo Squadron Six (VT-6) from USS Intrepid (CV-11) at about 0845 hrs. (Credits: US Navy)

Japanese Ships in Truk Lagoon Under Attack

US Navy Bombardiers Attack Japan's Naval Bastion at Truk, 16 February 1944

Troops from New Zealand Disembark from US Landing Craft Infantry Ship LCI-444 To Occupy Green Island, February 16, 1944

Barrage balloons at Green Island, 16 February 1944

Japanese Planes Burn on Truk after an Attack by US Navy Bombers, 16 February 1944

A Japanese Aircraft Crashing into the Sea after Being Hit by AA Fire during a Raid on Kwajalein

16in Main Armament of US Battleship Iowa, Firing at Fleeing Japanese Destroyer Nowake, Truk Lagoon, February 1944

A German Soldier with a Raketenpanzerbüchse Anti-Tank Weapon

Shock Troops of the Grossdeutschland Division Making a Counterattack in Village in Russia

A 7.5cm Pak Anti-Tank Gun Position Somewhere in Russia