Air Operations, CBI

As part of Operation GRUBWORM, 10th Air Force transports begin airlifting a reinforced Chinese Army infantry corps from Burma to China, where it is to help stop the Japanese Army advance toward Kunming. Throughout the operation, USAAF transport aircraft will make use of 1 airfield in Assam (the Ledo airfield) and 5 airfields in Burma, including 4 that have been constructed within only the previous two months. The airfields are Myitkyina North, Myitkyina South, Nansin, Sahmaw, and Warazup.

• 10 10th Air Force B-25s attack the Mogok area.
• 31 10th Air Force P-48s support Allied ground forces near Bhamo.
• 25 P-47s attack 5 road bridges.
• More than 20 P-47s attack troops and stores at 4 locations.
• 8 P-47s attack the rail line between Shwebo and Wuntho.

• 7 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Fort Bayard and the port area at Kowloon while sweeping the South China Sea, Gulf of Tonkin, and Formosa Strait.
• 6 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack targets of opportunity between Liuchow and Liuchenghsien.
• 61 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack lines of communication and targets of opportunity across southern China.
• 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron P-51s down 3 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters in a morning engagement near Chiuchiang.

Air Operations, East Indies

• FEAF B-24s attack targets of opportunity on northern Borneo and the airfield at Djailolo, the Galela airfield on Halmahera, and the Hate Tobako airfield.
• B-25s attack Langoan, Celebes.
• B-25s and A-20s attack the Kaoe and Miti airfields on Halmahera.

Air Operations, Europe

558 8th Air Force planes escorted by 800 fighters attack the Tegel tank works in Berlin and the Münster marshalling yards. 12 bombers and 9 fighters are lost. 91 German fighters are shot down over Berlin. The RAF makes day and night raids on Soest.

• 94 Lancasters of No. 3 Group carry out a G-H raid on Hamm through cloud. The British Bombing Survey Unit estimates that 140 acres, 39 per cent of Hamm's built-up area, are destroyed by this attack.
• There are no losses.
• 56 Lancasters of No. 3 Group attempt to bomb the Schwammenauel Dam on the River Roer (sometimes called the River Rur) to help the American Army, but the target is covered by cloud and only 2 aircraft bomb.
• There are no losses.

• 1 Hudson makes a Resistance flight.

• 497 aircraft including 385 Halifaxes, 100 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to Soest. This ias a successful raid, with the local report confirming that most of the bombing ias in the northern part of the town where the railway installations are situated.
• 2 Halifaxes are lost.

• 53 Mosquitos are sent to Ludwigshafen, 32 to Nuremberg and 4 to Duisburg, 1 Stirling is on a Resistance operation, and there are 40 Mosquito patrols and 36 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Marianas

A 318th Fighter Group P-47 downs a C6N 'Myrt' reconnaissance plane near Saipan at 1030 hours.

Air Operations, Philippines

• V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack Japanese Army ground troops, communications targets, and barges in the central Philippines.
• A VMF(N)-541 F6F downs a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter near Leyte at 0630 hours. This is the first victory credited to a USMC fighter pilot in the Philippines Campaign.
• A VMF-115 F4U downs an A6M Zero later in the day.
• 49th Fighter Group P-38s down 2 D3A 'Val' dive bombers and 2 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters over Ormoc Bay at 1115 hours.
• 49th and 475th Fighter group P-38s down 2 D3A 'Val' dive bombers, 1 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter, and 1 A6M Zero over Cebu between 1710 and 1725 hours.
• 2 USMC F4Us are lost in operational accidents at the Tacloban airfield on Leyte, and one of the pilots is killed.
• During the night, Japanese bombers destroy 3 Marine Air Group 12 F4Us on the ground at the Tacloban airfield on Leyte.

Balkans

British troops intervene in fighting between Greek Royalists and Communists.

Burma

The Japanese send a big contingent, 3,000 men, to Bhamo to relieve the garrison, which has been besieged for some time. The Chinese 30th Div advances in the same area, moving south toward Namhkam, harassed by small Japanese detachments hidden in the hills.

Eastern Front

Units of the 3rd Ukraine Front operating in southwest Hungary, reach the south bank of Lake Balaton. Other units advancing along the Drava take Szigetvar. German headquarters announce that the Russians have crossed the Danube near Vukovar.

Malinovsky continues to attack at Ercsi and also unleashes a new attack north of the city. Preceded by arty and air strikes, the 7th Guards Army launching a ferocious attack into the Ipoly Valley, supported by the 6th Guards Tank Army and Group Pliev. Bitter fighting ensues prompting Malinovsky to commit the 6th Guards Tank to support the attack. The armored forces suffer heavy losses in the close quarters fighting but manage to push their way forward toward Vac. To the south the 46th Army continues to suffer heavy losses before Ercsi but do establish some minor bridgeheads.

As these battles rage the 57th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front advances against the weaker southern wing of Army Group South, taking Szigetvar. The 37th Army takes Vukovar as it crosses the Danube in Yugoslavia.

Germany, Home Front

Women over 18 are asked to volunteer for the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe to free men to fight.

Greece

Athens is placed under martial law by Lt-Gen Scobie.

Italy

Troops from I Canadian Corps take Ravenna as 8th Army's attacks go on.
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Mediterranean

British and Greek warships bombard ELAS positions at Piraeus and Salamis.

Philippines

On Leyte the US 6th Army begins the offensive agains Ormoc. The advance moves south, while in the north the Americans are still pinned down by the Japanese. Japanese paratroop suicide squads land on Burauen airfield.

Japanese suicide aircraft seriously damage two US destroyers, the Drayton (DD-366) and the Mugford (Dd-389), off Leyte. However, the Japanese are quite unable to break the American air and naval blockade around the island.

Western Front

Units of the 95th Div, XX Corps, US 3rd Army, continue their attacks against Saarlautern and Fraulautern. On the southern flank of the attack, the 5th Div enters Lauterbach. Patrols from the 35th Div reach the Saar.

The US 7th Army opens a general attack northward toward the Maginot Line and the Siegfried Line with 2 corps along a 30-mile front. The 45th Div reaches Mertzwiller where it faces determined German resistance.

Images from December 5, 1944

A Vickers Machine-gun in Action near Geilenkirchen, Germany, 5 December 1944

British Infantry March through a German Village near Geilenkirchen, 5 December 1944

German Prisoners Are Escorted through a Village During Operations near Geilenkirchen, 5 December 1944

A German officer captured by British troops during operations near Geilenkirchen, Germany, 5 December 1944

Captured German Officer

A Stinson L-5 Sentinel flies over Burma during WWII, December 1944. (US Air Force Photograph)

A Stinson L-5 Sentinel

A soldier of 6th King's Own Scottish Borderers, 15th (Scottish) Division, searches wrecked buildings in Blerick, a suburb of Venlo in Holland, 5 December 1944

Searching Wrecked Buildings

USS LSM-20 sinking stern first after the Kamikaze attack at Surigao Strait, 5 December 1944. Several crew members are still aboard, one can be seen on the port side and another on the starboard side clinging to the life lines. USS LCI(G)-1017 is visible off LSM-20 port side as she stands by to rescue the LSMs' crew. Photo was taken from a second LCI laying off her starboard side

A Sinking LSM

USS LSM-20 standing on her stern as she sinks from the Kamikaze attack at Surigao Strait, 5 December 1944. Note that the crewman on the port side in the above photo has jumped and is under the water just a few feet from were he was standing, while the crewmen who was on the starboard side can be seen in the water. Note the helmet falling from the 40mm gun director tub. USS LCI(G)-1017 is still off LSM-20's port side.

A Sinking LSM