Air Operations, Carolines

• VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.
• 30 XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Woleai and Yap atolls.
• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack Koror and Peleliu islands in the Paula Islands while conducting armed-reconnaissance flights.

Air Operations, CBI

• Nearly 80 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack Mogaung, Myitkyina, Taungni, and a bridge at Namkwi.
• 12 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s airlift fuel to Kamaing.

• 20 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Hankow port area.
• More than 70 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack numerous targets in the Tungting Lake region.
• More than 30 B-25s and fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity along the Yellow River.

• 29 10th Air Force B-25s airlift ammunition to Imphal.

Air Operations, Europe

• 2 Mosquitos make uneventful Ranger patrols.

• 412 aircraft of Nos. 3, 4, 6 and 8 Groups attack 4 flying bomb sites which are all hit. In this total are 226 Lancasters, 164 Halifaxes and 22 Mosquitos.
• 5 Lancasters are lost.
• 203 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of Nos. 1 and 5 Groups attack the railway yards at Limoges and Saintes. Both targets are bombed with great accuracy.
• 2 Lancasters of No. 1 Group are lost on the Saintes raid.

• 32 Mosquitos are sent to Bremen, 10 to a railway junction at Doves near Amiens, 12 aircraft lay mines off French ports, and there are 27 Mosquito patrols and 14 RCM sorties.
• 1 Stirling is lost laying mines.

• 110 1st Bomb Division B-17s and 102 2nd Bomb Division B-24s attack 12 V-weapons sites in the Pad-de-Calais area using GH radar.
• Escort is provided by 141 VIII Fighter Command P-51s, which strafe transportation targets in the Paris area following withdrawal by the bombers.
• 1 P-51 is lost with its pilot
• More than 90 3rd Bomb Division B-17s fail to complete their briefed mission against Nanteuil because of bad weather, but 13 B-17s are able to attack the target, and 2 B-17s attack targets of opportunity.
• 1 B-17 is lost
• 183 2nd and 3rd Bomb Division B-24s attack the Coulommiers, Juvincourt, Laon/Athies, and Soissons Airdromes.
• 6 B-24s are lost
• Escort for these heavy bombers is provided by 155 VIII Fighter Command P-47s and 83 P-51s. Following the escort mission, P-47s bomb a marshalling yard at Givet.
• 169 VIII Fighter Command P-38 fighter-bombers attack bridges in the Paris area.
• 2 P-38s are lost with their pilots

• IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s are grounded during the morning by bad weather, but during the afternoon 175 B-26s and A-20s attac 7 V-weapons sites. Many of the 630 9th Air Force fighters escorting the bombers to France bomb and strafe communications centers and rail and road traffic.
• IX TAC fighter and fighter-bomber pilots down 5 Luftwaffe fighters and 1 Fi-156 between 0700 and 1822 hours.

• 12th Air Force B-25s and B-26s are grounded by bad weather, but XII TAC A-20s attack ammo dumps, and several P-47 groups are able to get airborne attack rail targets near the battle area.

• 139 15th Air Force heavy bombers attack targets throughout the Ploesti oil complex with 283 tons of bombs.
• 7 heavy bombers are lost
• 15th Air Force B-24s also attack oil-industry targets around Giurgiu.
• 25 Axis fighters are downed along the bomber routes between 0940 and 1030 hours by fighter pilots of the 31st, 52nd, and 325th Fighter Groups.

Air Operations, Marianas

• VF-15 F6Fs down 11 A6M Zeros near Guam between 0700 and 0730 hours.
• A VT-27 TBM and 2 VT-32 TBMs down 3 G4M 'Betty' bombers at sea between 1205 and 1218 hours.
• VC-65 FMs down 2 B6N 'Kate' torpedo bombers near Saipan at 1222 hours.
• VF-15 F6Fs down 3 A6M Zeros near Guam at 1600 hours.
• VF-50 F6Fs down 5 A6M Zeros and a G4M 'Betty' bomber at sea at 1710 hours.
• VF-50 and VF-51 F6Fsdown 2 A6M Zeros at sea at 1800 hours.
• With Task Group 58.4 remaining off Guam to cover the US fleet, Task Force 58 retires toward Eniwetok.
• While withdrawing, Task Group 58.1 mounts a diversionary strike against Pagan Island and learns through a radio intercept that an estimated 100 Japanese aircraft are being concentrated at Iwo Jima. This results in orders for Task Group 58.1 to attack airfields in the Bonin and Volcano groups.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s, V Fighter Command P-47s and P-39s, and RAAF aircraft attack the Wewak area throughout the day.
• Several A-20s and new A-26s attack barges and islands off Manokwari.
• P-47s attack coastal villages east of Manokwari.
• V Bomber Command B-24s assigned to attack Noemfoor Island are grounded by bad weather over the Nadzab-area bases.
• 348th Fighter Group P-47s based at Wakde provide direct support for US Army ground troops in action on Biak Island.

Atlantic

British MTBs virtually destroy a convoy near Cherbourg.

CBI

Gen Joseph Stilwell, concerned about low morale and lack of progress against the Japanese at Myitkyina, replaces Brig-Gen Haydon L. Boatner with Brig-Gen Theodore F. Wessels as commander of the Myitkyina Task Force. [ | ]

China

By agreement between the American Vice-President Wallace and Chiang Kai-shek a group of American observers is to be sent to the Chinese Communist army in the north of the country.

Diplomatic Relations

The US and Britain resume diplomatic relations with Bolivia.

Eastern Front

After the bombardment lifts, the Russians begin their attacks in Byelorussia. The front stretches from just north of Vitebsk in a long curve past Mogilev to the Pripet River or about 350 miles. The 1st Baltic Front and 3 Belorussian Fronts fall on the German salient at Minsk, exerting intense pressure in the Vitebsk and Bobruysk sectors. Advances of up to 11 miles are claimed in the first day. The German troops are too thin on the ground to hold such a huge front. As well as their massive artillery superiority the Russians have almost complete dominance in the air to speed them on their way. They have been building such strength for some time but in recent weeks many Luftwaffe units have been transferred to fight the British and American bomber offensive.

In the Finnish sector Alexei N. Krutikov's troops manage to cross the Svir. Russian Marines land behind the Finnish lines north of Lake Ladoga. Col-Gen Eduard Dietl, commander of the German forces on the Arctic front is killed in an air crash. He was 54.

The Soviet 7th Army pursues Finnish forces to the Svir.

The Soviet 6th Guards and 43rd Armies smash through German lines and head for the Dvina, cutting the road west out of Vitebsk. The German VI Corps is severely mauled, and near Orsha the Soviet 5th, 11th Guards and 31st Armies pummel XXVII Corps. The Stavka moves the 5th Guards Tank Army from the reserves ready to exploit the situation. The 2nd Belorussian Front's 33rd, 49th and 50th Armies attack the German 4th Army as they aim for Orsha and Mogilev. Soon, the German XXXIX Corps is under pressure.[MORE]

Italy

After bitter fighting some units of the British XIII Corps enter Chiusi, but a German counterattack cuts them off. The 4th Div takes over the XIII Corps's central sector, between Vaiano and Lake Chiusi, relieving some units of the 78th Div.

Marianas

On Saipan unsuccessful attacks by the Americans on Mount Tapotchau, on the slopes of which the Japanese have set up strong points in caves. However, the Marines manage to take some heights near the mountain and to make some small progress in what has already been christened 'Death Valley'. The Japanese counterattack along this valley with tanks during the night, but are driven back. In the south of the island the 105th Inf Regt is still not able to wipe out the 500 or so Japanese defending the Point Nafutan area.

The battle of Mount Tapotchau continues with attacks and counterattacks being sent in by both sides.

New Guinea

Mopping-up of the western caves on Biak continues; the Japanese will fight to the death. All the airfields on Biak are opened to aircraaft. Parai defile is also finally captured, but Japanese infiltrators continue to fight.

In the Sarmi area, on the mainland, the Japanese attack the American lines west of the beachhead, inflicting heavy losses on the Americans, who are only just able to hold them off. The 2 American battalions cut off in the Snaky River sector are unable to reopen the way back to their lines.

Western Front

The outer defenses of Cherbourg are penetrated slightly in some sections but the battle continues to be intense. On the left the 60th Regt of the 9th Div takes the Flottemanville sector while the 47th completes the capture of Height 171. In the center of the Allied line the 79th Div advances in the direction of La Mare-à-Canards but is unable to take this strongpoint. On the right wing, too, the 4th Div advancing toward Tourlaville is in some difficulty.

In the British sector of the Normandy front, 5th Div takes St Honorine to the northwest(ne?) of Caen.

Images from June 23, 1944

Bomb Damage

101st Airborne Division Ceremony in Carentan

3rd Armored Division Lands on Omaha Beach

Carrier with a Deck Load of US Army P-47 Fighters

US Reinforcements Arrive on the Beaches of Normandy

Members of the 2nd Evacuation Hospital

Remnants of Mulberry A

Bombers Dropping Supplies by Parachute

Japanese Reconnaissance Seaplane

Omaha Beach, June 23, 1944

US Motorized Troops Rushing to the Battle of Cherbourg