Air Operations, Carolines

VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, CBI

• 2 10th Air Force B-25s attack rail lines at Katha and Pinwe.
• 7 10th Air Force P-40s support Allied ground troops at Myitkyina.

• 11 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 42 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack Japanese Army ground troops and shipping in the Tungting Lake region.
• B-25s and P-51s attack the airfield at Lupao and town area.

Air Operations, Europe

• 374 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 3 and 8 Groups attack 3 V-weapon sites. Cloud affected all the raids, but good concentrations of bombs are believed to have been dropped on all targets.
• There are no losses.
• 4 Mosquitos make uneventful Ranger patrols.

Air Operations, Marianas

• A VF(N)-76 F4U downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber at sea at 0008 hours.
• 318th Fighter Group P-47s attack Japanese Army ground troops on Rota, Saipan, and Tinian islands.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s, B-25s, and A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack the Kamiri area of Noemfoor Island.
• B-25s attack the Manokwari area.
• 44 V Bomber Command B-24s mount a noon attack against the Kornasoren airfield on Noemfoor.
• Following an air and naval bombardment, including a last-minute precision target-suppression attack by 12 90th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s, US Army ground troops invade Noemfoor Island without opposition. The Kamiri airfield is captured, and US Army and RAAF engineers immediately begin to prepare it for flight operations. Cover and air support is provided throughout the day by 4 A-20 squadrons; 17th Reconnaissance Squadron B-25s; the 8th, 348th, and 475th Fighter groups; and the 421st Night Fighter Squadron.

Atlantic

The US motor minesweeper YMS-350 sinks in the Normandy area after an encounter with a mine.

Battle of the Atlantic

The German submarine U-543 in sunk by aircraft (VC-58) from the US escort carrier Wake Island (CVE-65) southeast of the Azores Islands.

Brazil

The first contingent of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force leaves Rio by sea to join the Allied 5th Army in Italy.

Burma-China

The Chinese divisions reinforce the north flank of the Myitkyina area, fearing a Japanese counter-offensive from the north. On the Salween front the Chinese 116th Div advances on Teng-chung in spite of the violent monsoon rain.

Eastern Front

The Russian forces cut several of the rail lines leading west from Minsk.

The 5th Panzer Division comes under heavy attack east of Minsk as the 1st and 3rd Belorussian Fronts draw closer together. Furious fighting rages at Krasnoye and Molodechno, the latter being retaken by 5th Panzer after ferocious fighting with the 3rd Belorussian Front. However, the 31st Army then slices through the German defenses and, supported by the 5th Guards Tank Army, reaches the outskirts of Minsk. Smolovichi falls.

The 3rd Army also draws up from the south, outpacing the retreating 9th Army. With the loss of Minsk imminent, Hitler agrees to the evacuation of the city. It was already too late, the bulk of the 4th Army being far to the east.

Germany, Command

Field-Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt asks to be relieved of the command of German forces in the West. Hitler accepts and replaces him with Field Marshal Hans Günther von Kluge.

Italy

Cecina Marina is captured by the 133rd Regt, of the US 34th Div, thus bringing to an end a bloody battle on the left of the American line. The 135th consolidates and reinforces its bridgehead beyond the Cecina River. Efforts by the 1st Arm Div to take Casole d'Elsa, an agricultural town some 25 miles from Siena, are unsuccessful, and the US formation has heavy losses in men and tanks. The French Expeditionary Corps captures Sovicille and continues its advance toward Siena.

In the British sector of the front the South African 6th Arm Div of XIII Corps makes for Sinalunga, from which the enemy has withdrawn. The 4th Div takes Foiano, about 20 miles from Arezzo and then presses on towards Arezzo. The XIII Corps has thus completely breached the 'Albert' Line.

Marianas

On Saipan on the left of the American line the 2nd Marine Div captures the ruins of Garapan. The whole front advances an average of half a mile. The Japanese withdraw to a new defensive line running from the north of Tanapag harbor to the east coast of the island.

New Guinea

After an intense and highly effective 80-minute bombardment of the landing zone from air and sea, the US 158th Regt(168th?), reinforced by Australian units, lands of the north coast of Numfoor Island, near Kamiri airfield. It meets no resistance. Gen Patrick commands 7,100 men of the US 168th Inf and some Australian units. He asks the 503rd Parachute Regt, held in reserve, to be dropped on Kamiri airfield. As the Americans advance cautiously inland they meet the first opposition from the Japanese. They establish a beachhead about 2 miles wide and half a mile deep. Artillery units are landed and begin to shell Kamiri airfield. Adm William N. Fechteler leads the naval force and TF 74 and TF 75 provide the escort and the preliminary bombardment. At Biak the skirmishing goes on.

Pacific(?)

• The Japanese crew of I-8 murders the survivors of the SS Jean Nicolet. The submarine rescued 99 survivors only to beat, torture and shoot most of them. Upon spotting a plane the submarine submerged leaving their victims on deck to drown. 23 manage to swim to debris that was left from their ship and hang on until they are picked up later by the Indian trawler Hoxa.
• US carrier aircraft attack Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, shooting down 16 Japanese air craft and destroying 29 on the ground.

Western Front

The divisions of the American 1st Army are reorganized. The VII Corps, now consisting of the 4th, 9th and 83rd Divisions, is moved between the VIII and XIX Corps, on the west and east. The VIII Corps now comprises 4 divisions, the 8th, 79th, 90th and 82nd Airborne, while the 29th and 30th Divisions stay in the XIX Corps. The 2nd Arm Div and the 1st and 2nd Inf Divs make up the V Corps.

Since D-Day 929,000 troops and 177,000 vehicles have landed.

Images from July 2, 1944

A shell being loaded into a 5.5-inch gun, 2 July 1944

During the bombardment of Noemfoor on 2 July 1944, Arunta fired 545 rounds of 4.7 inch ammunition in preparation for the landing of Australian troops

Bombardment of Noemfoor

US Marines Take Cover behind M4 Sherman 'King Kong' during the Battle of Saipan, July 1944

Paratroopers belonging to the US 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment land on Kamirir airstrip, Noemfoor, July 2, 1944

Paratroopers Land on Noemfoor