Air Operations, CBI
BURMA- 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s and 10th Air Force P-51s attack oil facilities at Chauk and Yenangyaung, the town of Akyab, and the airfield at Pakokku.
- 16 A-31s and 2 P-38s attack targets in the Arakan coastal region.
- More than 100 fighter-bombers attack Japanese Army positions, bridges, and artillery positions at Kamaing, Myitkyina, Nanyaseik, and Nsopzup.
- 13 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack a convoy at sea near Hong Kong (3 B-24s are lost).
- 8 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 43 14th Air Force fighters support Chinese Army ground forces on the Salween River front and attack a bridge spanning the Shweli River near Tengchung.
- 37 14th Air Force P-40s attack troops, tanks, motor vehicles, and Yangtze River traffic around Chingmen, Ichang, Loning, Loyang, Shasi, and Tangyang.
- 24 10th Air Force A-31s attack Japanese Army positions at Churachandpur.
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]Air Operations, Central Pacific
US carrier aircraft from Task Group 58.6 continue to attack Marcus Island, but the action is cut short by bad weather.
[ | ]Air Operations, Europe
Nearly 5,000 Allied planes operate against 12 rail targets and 9 airfields in France and Belgium.
RAF BOMBER COMMANDEvening Ops:
- 30 Mosquitos are sent to attack Düsseldorf. The target area is cloud-covered and the Oboe markers quickly disappear in the clouds. Most of the aircraft bomb on dead reckoning, but probably not very accurately. Wuppertal, 17 miles east of Düsseldorf, reports 71 people killed on this night.
- There are no losses.
- 14 Mosquitos are sent to Reisholz, 12 Halifaxes and 4 Stirlings lay mines off the French Atlantic ports, and there are 5 Serrate and 4 Intruder patrols and 7 OTU sorties.
- There are no losses.
| ]Air Operations, New Guinea
- V Bomber Command B-24s, B-25s, and A-20s attack shipping, antiaircraft batteries, and airfields at Manokwari, Mawi Bay, and on Biak and Noemfoor islands.
- B-25s, A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack numerous targets between Hansa Bay and Wewak.
- 49th Fighter Group P-40s based at Cyclops Airfield, Hollandia are instrumental in defeating a Japanese Army counterattack against US Army ground troops along the Tor River.
| ]Italy
Units of the American 88th Div pass Fondi and make for Monte Passignano. While the French reach Pico, the Polish II Corps opens the battle for Piedmonte San Germano.
Gen Fridolin von Senger and Etterlin, commanding the German XIV Panzer Corps, replaces the 71st Inf Div, already decimated by the attacks of the French Corps, by a fresh formation, the 26th Panzer Div.
[ | ]New Guinea
Task Force Tornado completes the occupation of Wadke Island, the nearby islets and the tract of the coast of New Guinea opposite. The 800 men of the Japanese garrison have been wiped out; the American losses amount to 53 dead and 139 wounded. On the mainland the Japanese try a counterattack against the beachhead, but they are driven off.
[ | ]Pacific
Japanese-held Marcus Island is attacked by US naval aircraft.
[ | ]Poland, Resistance
An experimental V-2 lands near the Bug River about 80 miles east of Warsaw. Polish resistance workers driver cattle into the river to hide the intact rocket from German troops. They get to it before the Germans and hide and dismantle it. On the night of July 25 its parts are flown by an RAF Dakota and are in London 7 weeks before the first V-2 lands. Nothing effective can be done with this knowledge, but it is an astonishing resistance achievement nonetheless.
[ | ]United States, Home Front
The Communist Party disbands.
[ | ]Images from May 20, 1944
Knocked Out German Artillery in Gaeta, Italy, 20 May 1944 |
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Destruction in Formia, Italy, 20 May 1944 |
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View of the Destroyed Monte Cassino Abbey in Cassino, Italy, 20 May 1944 |
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Under Fire at Itri |
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German Prisoners Carrying Wounded Fellow Soldier in Itri, Italy, 20 May 1944 |
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Wounded Yank |
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804th Tank Destroyer Battalion in Gaeta |
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Damaged Artillery Weapon in Itri, Italy, 20 May 1944 |
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