Air Operations, Carolines

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

Air Operations, CBI

• 9 10th Air Force B-25s attack Japanese Army ground troops in Naungtalaw. Nearly 100 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack Indaw and the Kamaing, Mogaung, and Myitkyina areas.
• 20 fighter-bombers attack a bridge and five towns.

• The 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing’s 444th Very Heavy Bomb Group, in B-29s, begins hauling supplies over the Hump from India to China to help build up reserves needed at staging bases for B-29 missions against targets in Japan.
• 60 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack a steel plant at Anshan.
• 15 444th Very Heavy Bomb Group B-29s attack Taku.
• 7 B-29s attack targets of opportunity. Two B-29s are lost in combat, and two are lost in operational accidents.
• 26 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack storage faclities at Samah Bay, Hainan Island.
• 27 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the airfield at Hankow, Tengchung, and the harbor at Yulin (Hainan Island).
• More than 80 14th Air Force P-51s and P-40s attack numerous towns and transportation targets over a wide area.
• 449th Fighter Squadron P-38s down 7 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters over Samah Bay between 1435 and 1445 hours.
• An 11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25 crashes after its crew bails out after becoming lost on return from its night mission against Canton.

Air Operations, Europe

The first jet to be used in combat, the German Me-163, enters action.

• 50 Halifaxes, 16 Stirlings and 10 Mosquitos of Nos. 3, 4 and 8 Groups attack the storage facility at Forêt de Nieppe.
• There are no losses.

• 30 Mosquitos are sent to Frankfurt, 9 to St Trond and 4 to Coulommiers, the last 2 being night fighter airfield sites, and there are 6 Mosquito patrols and 13 RCM and 9 OTU sorties.
• There are no aircraft losses.

• 38 3rd Bomb Division B-24s attack the Juvincourt-et-Damary Airdrome.
• 36 3rd Bomb Division B-24s attack the Laon/Couvron Airdrome.
• Escort is provided by 142 VIII Fighter Command P-51s.

• 569 8th Air Force B-17s attack the Leuna synthetic-oil plant at Merseburg.
• 442 2nd Bomb Division B-24s attack an oil refinery at Bremen.
• 34 B-17s and 3 B-24s attack various targets of opportunity.
• 15 B-17s and 2 B-24s are lost
• Escort is provided by a total of 535 VIII Fighter Command fighters. Two fighter groups strafe ground targets following completion of their escort duties. Escort pilots down 23 Luftwaffe fighters--including the first reported downing of an Me-163 rocket-propelled fighter--over Germany between 1000 and 1145 hours.
• 7 fighters are lost with their pilots

• 9th Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers provide ground support and area coverage for the US 1st Army.

• A small number of XII TAC fighter-bomber sorties are flown against rail lines, bridges, a defended town, several airdromes, and motor vehicles.
• During the night, XII TAC A-20s attack Savona and the surrounding area.

Air Operations, Japan

3 28th Composite Bombt Group B-24s attack several targets in the Kurile Islands while conducting armed-reconnaissance sorties.

Air Operations, Marianas

318th Fighter Group P-47s support US Marine Corps ground forces on Tinian.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack Moemi, Otawiri, Sagan, and Urarom.
• B-25s attack shipping off the New Guinea coast and oil targets at Karaka.
• Many aircraft attack targets in the Wewak area and elsewhere along the coast.
• V Fighter Command P-39s attack villages on Geelvink Bay.
• An 8th Fighter Group P-38 downs a D3A 'Val' dive bomber near Manokwari at 1315 hours.

Baltic Sea

• U-872 is sunk in a USAAF bombing raid on Bremen.

U-872

Class	Type IXD2
CO	Oberleutnant zur See Peter-Otmar Grau
Location	Baltic, Bremen
Cause	Air attack
Casualties	Unknown
Survivors	Unknown

• 3 other non-commissioned U-boats are destroyed in the same raid on Bremen by the USAAF - U-890, U-891 and U-892.

Battle of the Atlantic

US army aircraft sink the German submarines U-872 and U-2323 in the Bremen, Germany area.

Eastern Front

In a new offensive by 3rd Belorussian Front the Niemen is crossed.

The new German King Tiger tank is deployed against a Soviet bridgehead west of the Vistula at Baranov.

The advance of the Soviet 51st Army from Siauliai threatens to cut off the German 16th and 18th Armies in Latvia and Estonia. The 3rd Panzer Army moves north to secure a land corridor to the west. The Soviet 5th Army captures Vilnius and then moves west toward Kaunas.

A German counterattack at Wolomin by the XXXIX Panzer Corps against the 2nd Tank Army is launched. Meanwhile, the Soviet 3rd Guards Tank Army establishes a bridgehead over the Vistula at Sandomierz.[MORE]

Guam

The Marines take the airfield on the Orote peninsula, and have occupied the entire peninsula by the end of the day.

Italy

The 8th Div, British XIII Corps, reaches the Arno in the vicinity of Empoli.

New Guinea

On Biak the Americans complete the destruction of the Japanese pocket around Ibdi. There is no more organized fighting. On the mainland near Aitape the US forces retire slightly at Afua. In Operation GLOBE TROTTER the Americans land at Sansapor to complete the occupation of the New Guinea northern coastline.

Pacific

• The US submarine Drum (SS-228) sinks the Japanese sampan Asahi Maru about 100 miles off Palau.
• The US submarine Perch (SS-313) sinks the Japanese guardboat Kannon Maru I-Go in the Philippine Sea, east of Dinagat Island.

Tinian

The progress of the 2nd and 4th Marine Divs to the south is halted by strong Japanese resistance.

United States, Planning

The JCS planners reject the idea of an invasion of Luzon as a preliminary operation to the seizure of Formosa, as outlined in MacArthur's RENO V plan. Leyte would serve as the base for the reduction of Japanese air power to prepare for the assault on Formosa. The capture of Formosa is seen as essential in the defeat of Japan, as it would provide air bases for strategic attack on the home islands. The Palau Islands are considered essential to sea and air forces supporting landing in the Philippines. The Bonin Islands will be attacked in April 1945, followed by an invasion of Kyushu in October and a final assault on Tokyo in December.

Western Front

The 4th And 6th Arm Divs of VIII Corps continue to advance southward toward Avranches. Units of the US VII Corps reach Percy, while Paul Hausser's German 7th Army retires. On the right sector of the front, where the XIX Corps is operating, the 29th Div reaches the area east of Percy and the 30th, despite heavy enemy fire, continues to push on southward along the west bank of the Vire River in the direction of Tessy-sur-Vire. The V Corps is rapidly approaching Torigny-sur-Vier, southeast of St Lô.

Images from July 29, 1944

Three Photos of Coutances

Three Photos of Coutances

Three Photos of Coutances

US Troops in Coutances

Diabled SdKfz 231, Saint-Lô

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX, MK940

The Gurkhas Also Fought in Italy

Briefing Universal Carrier Flamethrower Crews

Destroyed German Wehrmacht Halftrack

Pinned Down by Mortar Fire

Flushing Out the Japanese

Spearheading the St Lô Breakout