Air Operations, Carolines

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Sorol and Woleai atolls and the airfield and other targets in the Yap Atoll.

Air Operations, CBI

• 14 10th Air Force B-25s attack the rail line between Mawlin and Naba.

• 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 14th Air Force fighter-bombers complete more than 160 sorties against numerous targets in the Tungting Lake region and adjacent areas along the Yangtze River.
• B-25s and fighter-bombers attack supply bases and Japanese Army infantry and cavalry in the Hengyang area.

Air Operations, Europe

US B-17s fly from Soviet bases to bomb Polish oil refineries being used by the Germans and then, on to Italy. No aircraft are lost on this mission which is one of a growing number deploying British and US aircraft from Soviet airfields.

• 103 Halifaxes of No. 4 Group, with 5 Mosquitos and 2 Lancasters of the Pathfinders, attack the V-weapon site at Wizernes.
• There are no losses and no report of the results.

• 202 Halifaxes of Nos. 4 and 6 Groups along with 28 Pathfinder Lancasters attack the railway yards at Blainville and Metz. Both targets are hit.
• 11 Halifaxes of No. 4 Group and 1 Lancaster are lost on the Blainville raid, and 7 Halifaxes of No. 6 Group and 1 Lancaster are lost on the Metz raid.

• 33 Mosquitos are sent to Saarbrücken and 10 to the Scholven/Buer oil plant, 8 Halifaxes and 4 Stirlings lay mines off Lorient and St Malo, and there are 35 Mosquito patrols and 21 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

• 11 2nd Bomb Division B-24s that are unable to attack assigned targets at Saarbrucken, Germany, attack the Florennes/Juzaine Airdrome.

• 341 8th Air Force B-17s attack two bridges, and oil dump, and five airdromes.
• 1 B-17 is lost
• 30 VIII Fighter Command P-47s, of 50 dispatched, attack the La Perthe Airdrome. VIII Fighter Command pilots down 2 Luftwaffe fighters over France and 1 over Belgium.

• 331 2nd Bomb Division B-24s attack marshalling yards at Saarbrucken.
• 1 B-24 is lost

• More than 200 IX TAC fighter-bombers operating from advance landing grounds in Normandy attack bridges, rail facilities, ammo and fuel dumps, gun emplacements, troop concentrations, motor vehicles, and many other tactical targets in and around the battle area.

• Although most of the 12th Air Force aircraft are grounded by bad weather, some XII TAC fighter-bombers are able to attack rail line servicing the Gothic Line.

• 15th Air Force B-24s attack the Karlova Airdrome and oil-industry targets around Bucharest. 40 escort fighters conduct a sweep over Bucharest.
• Pilots of the 31st, 52nd, and 325th Fighter Groups down 20 Axis fighters over and around Bucharest between 0958 and 1025 hours.

Air Operations, Marianas

• US carrier aircraft mount their first pre-invasion attacks against ground targets on Guam.
• 318th Fighter Group P-47s attack targets on Rota, Saipan, and Tinian.
• VF(N)-101 F4U night-fighters down 3 G4M 'Betty' bombers between 2015 and 2245 hours.
• During the night, Japanese Navy aircraft from Truk and Iwo Jima mount light, ineffectual attacks against US ships off Saipan.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• 5th Air Force bombers and fighters bombers attack Japanese Army positions on Biak and Efman islands, numerous targets through the Wewak area, the airfield and fuel dumps on Noemfoor Island, and the Babo and Maffin Bay areas.
• V Bomber Command B-24s assigned to attack Noemfoor Island are grounded by bad weather over the Nadzab-area bases.

Axis Diplomacy

Gen Wilhelm Keitel, Chief of Staff of the OKH, the supreme command of the German army, goes to Helsinki and promises to send reinforcements from Estonia. This meeting follows in the wake of Ribbentrop's visit. The Germans are trying desperately to avoid the separate peace that seems imminent.

Burma

In the north of the country units of the Chinese 14th Div advance towards Sitapur with the object of cutting off the Japanese units north of Myitkyina. On the Salween front Japanese aircraft appear for the first time, dropping supplies to the garrison of Sung Shan.

CBI

In China, the Japanese begin offensive operations to capture Henyang, the main city along the axis of advance toward Indochina and the key to the success of the ICHIGO offensive. About 40 poorly equipped and trained Chinese divisions defend the city. 14th Air Force B-25s, P-51s, and P-40s concuct attacks on Japanese headquarters, cavalry troops, and lines of communication and supply in the Hengyang area as enemy forces threaten the 14th Air Force's airfield.

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China

The Japanese move in to take Hengyang, having already captured the airfield there, and for the first time they run into stern resistance from the Chinese.

Diplomatic Relations

Prime Minister Winston Churchill writes to President Roosevelt with a direct appeal to cancel ANVIL, the invasion of southern France in support of OVERLORD, and divert the resources toward Yugoslavia and northern Italy. Churchill points out that the smaller ports in Normandy are sufficient to supply the OVERLORD lodgment rather than trying to resupply them from ports in southern France. Instead of southern France, Churchill offers and advance north from the Hungarian plains through the Ljubljana Gap to tie down German divisions that could be used to reinforce the German defenses at Normandy. Finally, Churchill stresses the political-strategic benefits of having Allied forces in the Dalkans before the Soviets.

Eastern Front

In Finland the northern wings of the Russian advance reach Petrozavodsk and also cross the Murmansk rail line farther north. The 7th Army of the Karelia Front under Kirill Meretskov takes Petrozavodsk, on the west bank of Lake Onega, cutting the railway line to Murmansk. The same railway line is also cut north of the lake by the 32nd Army. The Finnish II and VI Corps still resist stubbornly. The 3rd BRF and supportin tank army begin crossing the Berezina River. In the main battles in Belorussian Georgi Zakharov's troops take Mogilev and are now across the Dniepr nearby on a 70-mile front. Hitler dismisses Ernst Busch from command of Army Group Center. Field Marshal Walther Model is appointed as his replacement.

As BAGRATION unfolds Hitler replaces Lindermann, commander of Army Group North, with Field Marshal Friessner. Busch is sacked and replaced by Model, who cedes operational command of Army Group North Ukraine to Gen Harpe.

The German 3rd Panzer Army has virtually ceased to exist. Soviet forces are driving west: the 1st Baltic Front's 43rd Army takes Lepel, 2nd Belorussian's 49th and 50th Armies capture Mogilev, and the 5th Guards Tank Army is across the Berezina. Fierce fighting rages around Bobruisk where 70,000 troops of the German XXXV and XLI Corps are trying to escape west.[MORE]

Italy

The American IV Corps, with the 34th Div on the left and the 1st Arm Div on the right, advances along Highway 68, which runs parallel with the Cecina River. The South African 6th Arm Div reaches Chianciano without engaging the enemy. The positions of the 8th Indian Div are taken over by the 10th Indian Div.

Mariana Islands

On Saipan fighting continues along the line crossing the island from just south of Garapan, on the west coast, across the features of Mount Tipo Pale, Mount Tapotchau and Purple Heart Peak, to the east coast north of the Kagman peninsula. The 27th Inf Div suffers considerable losses in Death Valley, near Mount Tapotchau, and on Purple Heart Peak.

New Guinea

Gen Walter L. Eichelberger hands over command of Task Force Hurricane to Gen Jens A. Doe. The Japanese begin to withdraw from the eastern caves toward the north, preparing to go over to guerilla warfare in the absence of reinforcements and supplies. The Japanese strength has now largely been dissipated and the main task for the Americans is mopping up.

The XI Corps under Maj-Gen Charles P. Hall is organized at Aitape. It consists of the 32nd and 43rd Infantry Divisions, along with the 112th Cavalry RCT, corps artillery, and a tank destroyer battalion. Hall is waiting for the Japanese 18th Army, which has been ordered to move west and threaten the American advance and slow down MacArthur's offensive in New Guinea. The Japanese have little choice--it is either attack Aitape or die in the jungle.

Occupied France

The Vichy Minister for Propaganda, Philippe Henriot, is assassinated in Paris by the Resistance.

Pacific

• The Japanese Coast Cefense Vessel No.24 is sunk by the US submarine Archerfish (SS-311) in the western Pacific area.
• The US submarine Pargo (SS-264) attacks a Japanese convoy in Moro Gulf and sinks the army cargo ship Yamagiku Maru (5236t) and damages Coast Defense Vessel No.10 about 35 miles east of Zamboanga.
• The US submarine Sealion (SS-315), despite presence of escorts, sinks the Japanese collier Sansei Maru (2386t) in Tsushima Strait.

United States, Politics

At the Republican Party convention in Chicago Gov Thomas Dewey and Gov John Bricker win the nominations for president and vice-president respectively.

Western Front

The American 79th Div leaves the Cherbourg sector for the area where the US VIII Corps is operating, southwest of the Cotentin peninsula. In the Cotentin the US 9th Div is preparing for final attacks to eliminate the German resistance in the direction of Cap de la Hague. Just west of Caen advancing British troops cross the Odon on a two-mile front near Mondrainville.

Images from June 28, 1944

Attempting to Spot a Sniper

Advancing Through Waist-high Corn

Churchill Tank Supporting Infantry

Piper L-4 Transported by Truck

Inspecting a Knocked-out German Tiger Tank

Sherman Tank of the East Riding Yeomanry

Waiting To Go Into Action

Advancing Through a Gap in a Hedge

Torpedo Bomber Takes Off from San Jacinto

V-1 Damage in Briston

Digging In near Knocked-out Tiger

Touring Asliton Field, Saipan