Air Operations, CBI
BURMA- 4 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack supply dumps at Prome. More than 20 490th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s and 10th Air Force P-51s support Allied ground troops near Katha and Mawlu. 36 A-31s attack 2 occupied villages and Japanese Army ground troops along the Chindwin River. 1 459th Fighter Squadron P-38 damages a bridge near Pyinmana. More than 100 P-51, P-40, and A-36 fighter-bombers attack numerous targets in the Mogaung Valley.
- 4 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack road, rail, and ground targets in northern French Indochina.
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]Air Operations, Europe
- 8th Air Force bombs Berlin.
Evening Ops:
- 816 aircraft are sent to Frankfurt. Included in this total are 620 Lancasters, 184 Halifaxes and 12 Mosquitos.
- Again, an indirect route is employed, this time crossing the Dutch coast north of the Zuider Zee and then flying almost due south to Frankfurt. This, and the Kiel minelaying diversion, confuse the Germans for some time. Hannover is forecast as the main target. Only a few fighters eventually find the bomber stream. The marking and bombing are accurate and Frankfurt suffers another heavy blow. Reports from the ground show that the damage is even more severe than in the raid carried out 4 nights earlier. Half of the city is without gas, water and electricity 'for a long period'. All parts of the city are hit but the greatest weight of the attack falls in the western districts. The report particularly mentions severe damage to the industrial areas along the main road to Mainz.
- 26 Lancasters and 7 Halifaxes are lost.
- 20 Mosquitos are sent to attack night-fighter airfields, 128 Halifaxes and 18 Stirlings lay mines in Kiel Bay and off Denmark, 22 Mosquitos are on diversionary and harassing raids to Berlin, Dortmund, Hannover and Oberhausen, 20 OTU Wellingtons make leaflet flights over France, and there are 16 RCM sorties and 16 Serrate patrols.
- 1 mine-laying Halifax is lost.
GERMANY:
- 657 8th Air Force heavy bombers diverted by bad weather from attacking several aircraft factories at Oranienburg and Basdorf attack Berlin and a small number of targets of opportunity with a total of 1,471 tons of bombs.
- 12 heavy bombers are lost, 1 interned in Sweden, 347 damaged
- Escort is provided by 817 fighters, including 221 from the 9th Air Force, but only 2 Luftwaffe aircraft are downed.
ITALY:
- 12th Air Force B-25s attack the road bridge near Poggivonsi.
- 12th Air Force B-26s attack a viaduct near Arezzo and a rail bridge at Poggivonsi.
- XII Air Support Command P-40s attack gun emplacements.
- When Mt. Vesuvius erupts, the 340th Medium Bomb Group, based at Pompeii Airdrome, is forced to evacuate on short notice. Few human casualties result from the rain of hot rocks, but every one of the group's 88 B-25s is destroyed.
ITALY:
- Approximately 100 15th Air Force B-24s attack marshalling yards at Bologna and Rimini.
- More than 100 15th Air Force B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Verona.
| ]Air Operations, New Guinea
More than 130 V Bomber Command B-24s, B-25s, and A-20s, and V Fighter Command P-40 fighter-bombers attack numerous targets in the Wewak area. 25 bombers and fighter-bombers attack targets in the Aitape and Tadji areas. V Fighter Command P-47s attack barges near Alexishafen. P-39s attack a Japanese Army headquarters and supply dumps along the Bogadjim road.
[ | ]Allied Planning
In establishing priorities for the Allied air forces, the CCS decides NEPTUNE has priority over POINTBLANK (attacks against German war production). Gen Eisenhower, as Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force, will direct the operations of Allied air forces to attack targets in support of the invasion and to limit the ability of German forces to reinforce Normandy. The road and rail networks of France are to become primary targets.
[ | ]Axis Politics
The Germans announce from Berlin that a new Hungarian Government has been formed and will be led by Field Marshal Dome Sztojay.
[]Burma
The Chindits continue to carry out nuisance actions and sabotage against the Japanese in central Burma, and new units reach them by air.
Japan advances its large-scale offensive into India from Burma. Units of the 18th Army reach a point 30 miles east of Imphal in the mountainous area of Manipur.
[ | ]Eastern Front
Pervomaysk, southeast of Uman is taken by Konev's 3rd Ukraine Front. Despite the skill of their commanders, von Manstein's Army Group South and von Kleist's Army Group A have suffered catastrophic losses in men and materials and have been forced to yield a lot of ground under Russian pressure.
SOUTHERN SECTORMalinovsky's 3rd Ukrainian Front breaches the German line on the Bug. As the fighting rages along the river, the 5th and 7th Guards Armies of the 2nd Ukrainian Front captures Pervomaisk.
SOVIET COMMANDThe Stavka amends the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Front objectives. The 1st Ukrainian is to complete the encirclement and destruction of the 1st Panzer Army around Kamenets Podolsky, while the 2nd breaks free of the Dniestr to threaten the Rumanian borders.
GERMAN ALLIESAs the Red Army draws closer to the border, Marshal Antonescu, the Rumanian dictator, flies to Berlin to meet with Hitler. Antonescu aims to seek some degree of German support or flexibility against the advancing Communist forces.
With Russian forces also approaching their borders, the 1st Hungarian Army, which has only just begun to form up, enters the combat line near Chernovitsy.
[ | ]India
The Japanese offensive against India looks as if it may succeed. The British IV Corps, deployed to the west of the Chindwin to defend the Indian town of Imphal, shows signs of giving way.
[ | ]Italy
The New Zealand Corps makes a final effort against Cassino but to no efect. Afterward Freyberg calls off the attack. Some troops are withdrawn from the most adavnced positions below the monastery and the remainder of the recent Allied gains consolidated.
[ | ]Japan, Home Front
Tojo informs the Japanese Diet the war situation is grave.
[ | ]Images from March 22, 1944
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| [March 21st - March 23rd] |
