Air Operations, Carolines

• 5th and 307th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack airfields on Koror and Peleliu in the Palau Islands.
• During the night, 868th Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack Japanese airfields and defenses in the Palau Islands.

Air Operations, CBI

• 3 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack stores at Amoy.
• 3 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a barracks at Wenchow and a bridge near Sincheng.
• 31 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops and rail and river traffic across a wide area.

Air Operations, East Indies

V Bomber Command B-24s attack the Haroekoe airfield on Ceram and the Liang airfield on Amboina.

Air Operations, Europe

In night raids on Paris by the Germans, 110 people are killed and another 719 are injured. Numerous fires are started.

• 327 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 3 and 8 Groups are sent to Kiel. The Pathfinder marking is hampered by smoke screens but the local report tells of a serious bombing raid with heavy damage in the center of the city and surrounding districts starting widespread fires fanned by strong winds. The Rathaus is completely burned out and many other public buildings destroyed or seriously damaged.
• 17 Lancasters are lost.
• 174 Lancasters of No. 5 Group attack Königsberg, an important supply port for the German Eastern Front. The target if 950 miles from the No. 5 Group bases. Photographic reconnaissance shows falls in the eastern part of the city, but there are no reports from the ground on the damage.
• 4 Lancasters are lost.

• Support and 108 training aircraft make a diversionary sweep to Normandy, 21 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 13 to Hamburg and 12 others to 5 other targets, 30 Lancasters and 15 Halifaxes lay mines off Danzig and Kiel, and there are 70 Mosquito patrols and 19 RCM sorties.
• 5 mine-laying Lancasters, 1 RCM Mosquito and 1 Serrate Mosquito are lost.

• In an effort to slow the headlong retreat of German Army ground forces before fast-moving Allied Spearheads, VIII Fighter Command fighter-bombers mount 389 effective sorties against transportations targets in eastern France, Belgium, and western Germany.

• 138 3rd Bomb Division B-17s attack gun batteries and fortifications on the Brest Peninsula.
• 48 VIII Fighter Command fighters, of which 1 is lost with its pilot.

• 174 1st Bomb Division B-17s attack two oil refineries at Gelsenkirchen and several secondary targets.
• 95 2nd Bomb Division B-24s attack a chemical plant at Ludwigshafen, marshalling yards at Ehrgang andKons Karthaus, and a target of opportunity.

• 116 2nd Bomb Division B-24s attack oil refineries at Emmerich and Salzbergen, and a fuel dump at Dulmen.
• 10 heavy bombers are lost
• Escort for the various heavy-bomber missions to Germany is provided by 365 VIII Fighter Command fighters.
• 2 fighters are lost with their pilots

• 36 2nd Bomb Division B-24s attack their seondary target, the Eindhoven Airdrome, after failing to locate their primary target in Germany.
• 9 2nd Bomb Division B-24s, escorted by 32 VIII Fighter Command P-51s, are unable to attack the rail bridge at Moerdijk with Azon guided bombs because of heavy cloud cover.

• IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack three fuel dumps, troop concentrations, and equipment storage areas.

• Although several missions fail in the face of bad weather, 12th Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack gun emplacements around Marseille.
• XII TAC fighter-bombers attack ammo dumps, rail lines, motor vehicles, gun emplacements, and other targets.

• 15th Air Force B-17s attack rail viaducts at Avisio, Latisana, and Venzone.

• 115 15th Air Force B-24s attack Bucharest's Otopeni Airdrome.
• 114 B-24s attack the city's German Army barracks and also the ferry at Giurgiu.

• 15th Air Force heavy bombers attack a viaduct at Borovnica.

Air Operations, Japan

• 3 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack Kashiwabara.
• 6 B-25s attack coastal targets and a Japanese Navy patrol boat in the eastern Kurile Islands.
• 7 B-24s attack a fuel dump and port facilities at Kashiwabara and Otomari Cape.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command A-20s support Allied ground forces around Sarmi.
• V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack numerous targets in the Suain and Wewak areas.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

30th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s based at Saipan attack Iwo Jima.

Bulgaria

The Bulgarian government announces that it has withdrawn from the war and that German troops will be disarmed. On August 29 the Soviet Union announces that it cannot accept or recognize Bulgarian neutrality.

CBI

The Mars Task Force is activated under the command of Brig-Gen Thomas S. Arms. The task force is composed of a new unit named the 5332nd Brigade (Provisional), the 475th Infantry Regiment (the remnants of the Marauders and New Galahad), the 124th Cavalry Regiment (the last US Army unit actually to have horses, but now converted to infantry), and the 1st Chinese Separate Regiment (a unit that never actually served). Supporting the infantr are the 612th and 613th Field Artillery Battalions with 75 millimeter pack howitzers.

Eastern Front

In the south Russians of the 3rd Ukraine Front advancing along the Prut River reach the Danube east of Galati. The main attacks, delivered by the 2nd Ukraine Front, are, however, west of the town between it and Focsani.

The 37th Army reaches the Danube at Galati. The remnants of the 6th Army fight their final battle around Leov while Group Meith continues to attack at Husi. Once more though the Soviet forces are able to repel each German attack and inflict heavy casualties.

The remnants of the XXIX Corps, now also in operational encirclement with its 20,000 remaining men, have assembled on the Siret near Focsani in an effort the break out to the west.

With Soviet forces fast approaching its borders, the Bulgarian government orders the disarming of all German troops and begin the evacuation of Thrace.

Italy

8th Army establishes solid bridgeheads over the Metauro. The German 71st Div is pushed back rapidly by V Corps.

Northern France

Most of the Allied Armies now have units over the Seine and advancing to the northeast. After crossing the lower Seine the Canadian 1st Army moves off north toward Calais, and the British 2nd Army toward Belgium. In support of the British, the American 1st Army moves along the axis Paris-Brussels. The Allied divisions resume their advance to the east from their bridgeheads on the right bank of the Seine. The 7th Arm Div of the XX Corps thrusts swiftly northeast in the direction of Château-Thierry and the Marne River.

In Brittany the attacks by the American VIII Corps against Brest are still unsuccessful.

Gen de Gaulle returns to Paris and joins a ceremonial parade despite the danger from a few remaining German snipers.

Occupied Greece

The Germans begin withdrawing forces from the mainland. The evacuation will end November 2.

Pacific

The Japanese destroyer Samidare is sunk by the US submarine Batfish (SS-310) off the Palau Islands.

Southern France

As the Germans retire north, the resistance by the Toulon and Marseilles garrisons is visibly weakening. A large part of both cities has been captured by units of the French II Corps.

Images from August 26, 1944

Drives Down the Champs Elysees in Paris

French 2nd Armored Division

Tomb of the Unknown Warrior

Advancing toward the Gothic Line

Taking Cover from Snipers

Expressing Their Feelings

Celebrating the Liberation of Paris

Watching for the Enemy