Air Operations, CBI

• 7 10th Air Force B-25s attack a bridge at Hsipaw.
• 4 B-25s attack a bridge at Bawgyo.
• 20 10th Air Force P-47s attack ground positions, a bomb dump, horse-drawn transport, a Japanese Army headquarters, a Japanese Army troop concentration, and various targets of opportunity.
• 12 P-47s support Allied ground forces near Pinwe.
• 8 14th Air Force B-25s attack a barracks at Lashio.

• More than 60 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack shipping, rail facilities, radio stations, and targets of opportunity across southern China and northern French Indochina.
• A 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron P-51 downs a Ki-44 'Tojo' fighter in an engagement near the airfield at Erh Tao Kow, Chiuchiang at 0850 hours.

Air Operations, East Indies

• FEAF B-25s attack the Haroekoe and Laha airfields on Ceram.
• 347th Fighter Group P-38s attack targets of opportunity around Makassar and Sidate on Celebes.
• A 347th Fighter Group P-38 downs an F1M 'Pete' reconnaissance plane over Makassar at 1325 hours.

Air Operations, Europe

• 183 Lancasters of No. 3 Group make a G-H attack on the oil plant at Homberg, but the weather is stormy and many aircraft are not able to maintain formation with the G-H aircraft on the bombing run. The bombing, through cloud, is believed to have been scattered.
• 5 Lancasters are lost.

• 3 Hudsons are on Resistance operations, and there are 2 Mosquito Ranger patrols and 3 RCM sorties.

• 43 Lancasters of No. 8 Group make an unusual Pathfinder solo raid on Koblenz without loss. The purpose of the raid is not recorded. It is possible that either the large road and rail bridges over the Rhine and Mosel or the local railway yards were the targets. Only high-explosive bombs are carried. Koblenz is completely covered by cloud and all bombing was by H₂S from 15,000 ft. The local report states that some bombs fell in the town, blocking several roads and railways and scoring hits on a road and a rail bridge, although these remain usable.

• 63 Mosquitos are sent to Hannover, 14 each to the Homberg and Castrop-Rauxel oil plants and 9 to Eisenach, and there are 17 Mosquito patrols and 17 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Albania

(when?) The Germans evacuate Tirana.

Burma-China

On the Salween front, troops of the Chinese 11th Army Group take Manshih, where the airfield is immediately reactivated.

Chiang Kai-shek appoints a new Minister of War in an attempt to mollify popular disenchantment with his régime.

Greece

The British Gen Ronald Scobie is placed in charge of measures for disbanding the guerrilla armies in Greece.

Indian Ocean

2 carriers from the British Eastern Fleet send 2 waves of attacks against airfields at Sabang and oil installatons at Belawan Deli on Sumatra.

Italy

The 46th Div of the V Corps, British 8th Army, takes Castiglione.

Pacific

• A Kaiten 'suicide torpedo' sinks the US naval tanker Mississinewa (AO-59) in the Ulithi Atoll area.
• The Japanese minesweeper No. 38 is sunk by the US submarine Atule (SS-403) in the South China Sea.

Philippines

On Leyte the American thrust toward Ormoc is solidly contained by the Japanese.

Western Front

The XII Corps, British 2nd Army, pushes on toward the Maas with the 49th and 51st Divs.

In the US 9th Army sector, the 29th Div, XIX Corps, launches 2 attacks against Aldenhoven, about 3 miles southwest of Jülich and capture it. In the streets of Metz the 95th and 5th Divs, XX Corps, US 3rd Army, continue the battle with the German rearguards. The town is the biggest objective reached by Gen Patton's forces. The commander of the sector, Gen Heinrich Kittel, is killed in action after the staff of the German 1st Army has withdrawn the best units from the Metz trap. Fierce fighting continues within Metz. The 80th Div, XII Corps, reaches the Nied at Falquemont and establishes a bridgehead on the north bank of the river.

In the US 7th Army sector, the 3rd Div, VI Corps, crosses the Meurthe in the area of Clairefontaine-St-Michel, capturing a large bridgehead taking in the villages of La Paire, Hurbache and La Voivre. The 100th Div opens an offensive eastwards from the Raon-l'Etape area. During the night the 103rd Div crosses the Meurthe in the 3rd Div's area and advances toward St Dié.

The 2nd Moroccan Div and units of the 5th Arm Div, French 1st Army, enter Belfort, where fighting continues for several days. The divisions of the II Corps, the 3rd Algerian and the 1st, also advance. Some units of the French 1st Arm Div reach the suburbs of Mulhouse.

Images from November 20, 1944

French M4 Sherman Advancing with Infantry, Belfort, 20 November 1944

USS Mississinewa burns while sinking following an attack by Japanese kaiten (suicide submarine)

USS Mississinewa Burns While Sinking

Burning oil tanker, believed to be the USS Mississinewa after it was hit by a Japanese suicide submarine (kaiten) in Ulithi lagoon, 20 November 1944

Burning Oil Tanker USS Mississinewa

20 November 1944. After five years in the dark, the nightly WW2 'blackout' ended in London

London Lifts 'Blackout'

Destroyer-escorts (DE) drop depth charges during the search for Japanese submarines in Ulithi anchorage following the sinking of USS Mississinewa (AO-59), 20 November 1944. A Fletcher class destroyer is in the left-center background and an anti-submarine net is in the distance. Photographed from the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill (CV-17). Official US Navy photograph

Destroyer-Escorts Drop Depth Charges

Japanese 'Kaiten' Type 1 Human Torpedo after recovery by US forces at Ulithi Atoll in 1945. This is the after half of the "Kaiten." The forward portion, including warhead, forward oxygen & fuel tanks and the crew compartment, is missing, and may have been destroyed after the warhead exploded. It is not known if this is the same “Kaiten” that destroyed USS Mississinewa. Official US Navy photograph

Japanese 'Kaiten' Type 1 Human Torpedo

Anti-submarine Hunt in Ulithi Lagoon, 20 November 1944

Abandoned PaK 40 (PanzerabwehrKanone 40) 75mm anti-tank gun in Scherpenseel, Germany. This gun most likely belonged to Grenadier Regiment 103, 47th Volksgrenadier Division. This unit arrived in Scherpenseel the day before the 3rd Armored Division attacked on 20 November 1944. (Location and information provided by Timm Haasler, Melle, Germany)

Abandoned PaK 40 (PanzerabwehrKanone 40) 75mm Anti-tank Gun