Admiralty Islands

At 8:17a.m. after preparatory air and naval bombardment 1,000 men of Gen William C. Chase's 5th Cav Regt are landed at Hyane Harbor on Los Negros to carry out Operation BREWER. Momote airfield, defended by a small Japanese garrison, is taken by 9:50a.m., but the landing force is not strong enough to hold it, so the defensive perimeter is reduced overnight. Gen MacArthur and Adm Kinkaid, commanding 7th Fleet, are present offshore and decide to convert the landings into a full-scale occupation. MacArthur gives orders that the beachhead must be held at all costs against the expected Japanese counterattacks during the night. The attacks come, but are held without difficulty. The Japanese, though numerically superior to the Americans, are poorly co-ordinated tactically. US air forces carry out several attacks by air and sea against the base at Lorengau, in Manus Island, the biggest island in the archipelago. US destroyers also shell the Rabaul base, in New Britain.

Air Operations, CBI

• 7 490th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s attack several bridges. 7 B-25s and 4 10th Air Force P-51 fighter-bombers attack a wireless station at Sinkan and bridges near Kawlin and Ye-u. more than 40 P-40s, P-51s, and A-36s attack rail facilities at Myitkyina and supply dumps near Mogaung and Seton.

• 23 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack warehouses at Yoyang. 12 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack rail yards at Yoyang. 2 B-25s and 16 P-40s attack shipping off northeastern China. 2 B-25s attack Yangtze River shipping. 6 P-40 fighter-bombers attack ammunition dumps near Kunlong. 12 P-51s and 449th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack barracks at Nanchang and Teian, and rail facilities at Yangsin. 4 P-40s attack a barracks at Nanchang.

Air Operations, Europe

• 15 Mosquitos are sent to Düsseldorf, 1 to the flying-bomb site at Sottevaast, and there are 20 OTU sorties.
• 1 OTU Whitley is lost.

Air Operations, Marshalls

VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Maloelap, Mille, and Wotje atolls. 41st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the Jaluit and Mille atolls. 15th Fighter Group P-40 fighter-bombers attack the Mille Atoll.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• Bad weather sharply impedes the final pre-invasion bombardment of the Admiralty Islands. Of 3 43rd Heavy Bomb Group squadrons assigned, only 3 B-24s are able to attack the Momote airfield on Los Negros. Of 3 345th Medium Bomb Group squadrons assigned, only 3 B-25s are able to conduct a final low-level attack against the landing beaches ahead of the lead waves of troops. Nevertheless, the landings on Los Negros Island is a complete success, and the Momote airfield is captured within two hours. Only a few of the many V Bomber Command B-24s and B-25s, 475th Fighter Group P-38s, and 348th Fighter Group P-47s assigned to various support missions through the day are able to attack Japanese Army defensive positions and gun emplacements. 4 P-38s are lost in weather-related mishaps.
• V Bomber Command B-24s and A-20s attack several targets in western New Guinea.

Britain, Planning

RAF Fighter Command is reorganized and renamed Air Defence of Great Britain.

Burma

In the Arakan sector British and Indian troops succeed in completely clearing the Ngakyedauk Pass of Japanese.

Diplomatic Relations

Moscow confirms the Finns have offered to discuss peace terms.

Eastern Front

Marshal Vatutin, commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front and one of the ablest Russian military leaders, is ambushed and fatally wounded by Ukrainian nationalist rebels. Gen Zhukov takes over command of the 1st Ukrainian Front.[MORE]

Italy

The third and last attack in force by the Germans against the Anzio beachhead begins. It is hampered by dreadful weather, however, as the German vehicles sink into the mud and poor visibility makes their artillery fire ineffective.

Images from February 29, 1944

The King Inspects Officers of 5th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders during a Snow Storm at Gorhambury Park in Hertfordshire, 29 February 1944

The First Wave of US Troops Lands on Los Negros, Admiralty Islands, 29 February 1944

Digging a Foxhole through Coral Rock near the Airstrip, Los Negros, 29 February 1944

Type 3 Ka-Chi Departure from No. 149, a No. 101-Class Landing Ship (Japanese Amphibious Assault Ship) at Nasakejima Island, 29 February 1944