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.

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.

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.

Tinian

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

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

These three photos are of Coutances, 29 July 1944

These three photos are of Coutances, 29 July 1944

These three photos are of Coutances, 29 July 1944

4th Armored Division and 357th Inf Rgt, 90th Infantry Division in Countantes, 29 July 1944

Diabled SdKfz 231, Saint-Lô, 29 July 1944

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX, MK940, ZF-B of No. 308 'City of Kraków' Polish Squadron RAF at Le-Fresne Camilly (B-5), Normandy, 29 July 1944

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX, MK940, ZF-B of No. 308 'City of Kraków' Polish Squadron

Gurkhas of 4th Indian Division keep watch on enemy positions in Alpi di Catenaia from high ground on Monte Castiglione, 29 July 1944.

The Gurkhas also fought in Italy

Lt Stan Biggs briefing Universal Carrier flamethrower crews of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, Vaucelles, France, 29 July 1944.

Briefing Universal Carrier Flamethrower Crews

German Wehrmacht halftrack destroyed by 9th Air Force fighter-bombers on 29 July 1944 in France. (Courtesy Air Force Museum)

Destroyed German Wehrmacht Halftrack

No. 5 Troop, 2 Commando, Pinned Down by Mortar Fire during the Advance on Spilje, 29 July 1944

Same task, different island - flushing out Japanese defenders on Tinian, one of the Mariana Islands, with a pack howitzer

Flushing Out the Japanese

Troops of 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4ID ride the tanks of the 66th Armor Regiment, 2AD as they spearhead the St. Lo breakout. The two units earned the Presidential Unit Citation for their work.

Spearheading the St Lô Breakout