Air Operations, Carolines

FEAF B-24s attack the Yap Atoll.

Air Operations, CBI

• 12 10th Air Force B-25s attack Maingna and bridges at Mohnyin.
• 27 10th Air Force P-40s support Allied ground troops at Myitkyina.
• More than 20 P-47s and P-51s attack targets of opportunity near Hopin and rail bridges at three locations.

• 23 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Changsha.
• 40 P-40s and P-51s attack Ikiawan, river traffic near Changsha, and targets of opportunity near Hengyang.

Air Operations, East Indies

V Bomber Command B-24s attack the Atamboea airfield on Timor.

Air Operations, Europe

• 30 Lancasters and 3 Mosquitos of No. 8 Group attack the flying bomb launch site at St Philbert Ferme through thick cloud.
• There are no losses.

• 38 Mosquitos attack the synthetic oil plant at Homberg without a loss.

• 4 Stirlings lay mines off Brest, 8 Mosquitos make flying bomb patrols and there are 5 OTU sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Marianas

318th Fighter Group P-47s attack Tinian.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack antiaircraft batteries at Manokwari.
• B-25s, A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack the Wewak area.
• Fighter-bombers attack dumps near Moemi and shipping around Babo and Kokas.

Diplomatic Relations

The London Polish government publish a paper claiming territory in East Prussia, Danzig and the Polish Corridor for postwar Poland.

Eastern Front

Armored columns from the 3rd Belorussian Front and the 1st Belorussian Front converge from north and south to capture Grodno, southwest of Vilna and northeast of Bialystok. The Germans launch a fruitless counterattack against the 3rd Belorussian Front's bridgeheads over the Niemen River. The Russian southern fronts in southern Poland and Galicia clash with the German North Ukraine Army Group, commanded now by Gen Josef Harpe in place of Walter Model, who has left this very day to take over command of the Army Group Center.

The 3rd Guards Tank and 4th Tank Armies smash aside the German panzer divisions trying to hold them and break into the rear of the XIII Corps.

Italy

The 135th Regt, 34th Div, captures Height 232 and Monte Maggiore, Heights 449 and 413, southeast of Leghorn. Units of the 133rd Regt seize Usigliano and penetrate several miles into the valley of the Arno. The 9th Div is advancing at the center of the US formations, with the 88th Div on the right.

In the British sector the 6th Arm Div takes Arezzo. The stubborn and tenacious German resistance in this sector has not only held up the Allied advance in a remarkable way, but has also allowed the units of von Vietinghoff's 10th Army and Lemelsen's 14th Army to strengthen and improve the defensive positionso on the 'Gothic' Line. Some units of the British XIII Corps press on as far as the Arno, seize a bridge and establish a bridgehead on the opposite bank. The next target is Florence.

New Guinea

Minor actions on the Driniumor River in the Aitape sector. On Numfoor Island the parachutists lose contact with the main body of the Japanese forces. Kamiri airfield is ready to accommodate an entire fighter group.

Western Front

The American VI Corps continues to push on with 2 divisions, the 9th on the right and the 30th on the left, in the direction of the road linking Periers and St Lô. They are opposed in this sector by the German 5th Parachute Div and the Panzerlehr Div. In the vicinity of La Madeleine, on the Bayeux-St Lô road, the 29th Div tries without success to reach the units cut off after the attack on the 15th.

On the right of the British 2nd Army, the 59th Div of XXX Corps attacks in the direction of Noyers, while the 50th strengthens its positions near Hottot-les-Bagues. Further east, the 15th Div of XII Corps capture Gavrus, Bougy and Esquay, the latter above Evrecy.

In a report sent to the General Headquarters of Army Group West Rommel emphasizes that since June 6 his units have lost nearly 100,000 men killed, wounded and missing, including 2,360 officers, of whom only one-tenth have been replaced. He warns that his troops are being steadily and inexorably exhausted. His message ends on a pessimistic note: 'The enemy is on the point of smashing our weak front line and penetrating deep into the interior of France.'

Images from July 16, 1944

5.5-inch Medium Guns Firing at Night during the Offensive in the Odon Valley near Evrecy, 16 July 1944

5.5-inch Medium Gun Firing at Night during the Offensive in the Odon Valley near Evrecy, 16 July 1944

Churchill Tanks Move Up at Dawn near the Village of Tourville to Attack Hill 112, 16 July 1944

A Churchill Tank Move Up toward the Village of Tourville to Attack Hill 112, 16 July 1944

Pvt W Nodder of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers writes home from his slit trench before the attack on Evrecy, 16 July 1944.

Writing Home from His Slit Trench

Sergeant G S Davies of the Royal Welch Fusiliers packs his medical bag at the regimental aid post before an attack towards Evrecy, 16 July 1944.

Packing His Medical Bag

A Sergeant Briefs Men of the Royal Welch Fusiliers before an Attack towards Evrecy, 16 July 1944

Colonel J A Rice-Evans, CO of a batttalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, 53rd Division, briefs his officers from his slit trench at battalion HQ before an attack towards Evrecy, 16 July 1944

Briefing His Officers

Infantry occupy slit trenches in the forward area between Hill 112 and Hill 113 in the Odon valley, 16 July 1944.

Infantry Occupy Slit Trenches

Sgt J Lloyd (right) and L/Cpl Jones, two motorcycle despatch riders of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers have a ‘brew’ before the attack on Evrecy, 16 July 1944.

Despatch Riders Having a 'Brew'

Infantry moving up during attacks between Hill 112 and Hill 113 in the Odon valley, 16 July 1944.

Infantry Moving Up During Attacks

A Sherman Firefly Advances during Operations in the Odon Valley, West of Caen, 16 July 1944

A Sherman Tank Aadvances During Operations in the Odon Valley, West of Caen, 16 July 1944

A heavily-loaded Universal carrier drives through a gap made in a hedge during the attack on Evrecy, 16 July 1944.

Universal Carrier Drives Through a Gap

Sherman Tank of 26th Armoured Brigade, 6th Armoured Division, Arezzo, 16 July 1944

Infantry Watch Churchill Tanks Moving Up for a Dawn Attack towards Evrecy, 16 July 1944

Sherman Tanks of 6th Armored Division Passing through the Narrow Streets of Arezzo, 16 July 1944

British Infantry Advance near Arezzo, Italy, 16 July 1944

A Sherman Tank of 16th/5th Lancers Passes through a Railyard in Arezzo, 15 - 16 July 1944

A Half-track Passes a Knocked-out German Panther Tank on a Road near Tourville, 16 July 1944