Air Operations, CBIBURMA
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Air Operations, East IndiesFEAF B-25s and fighter-bombers, with RAAF aircraft, attack airfields and targets of opportunity on Halmahera. [![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Air Operations, EuropeRAF BOMBER COMMANDDaylight Ops:
GERMANY:
ITALY:
AUSTRIA:
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Air Operations, Philippines
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Air Operations, Volcano IslandsTo stop air attacks against B-29 bases at the source, US Navy surface warships join 61 73rd Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s (of 82 dispatched) and 102 VII Bomber Command B-24s in the largest bombardment to date of all 3 airfields in Iwo Jima. Escort is provided by 28 318th Fighter Group P-38s, which open the day’s attack at 0945 hours with a sweep of the island. The bombers alone drop nearly 800 tons of bombs on the island. This brutal bombardment opens a pre-invasion bombardment effort that will continue for 74 consecutive days. Most of these attacks will be undertaken by VII Bomber Command B-24s and VMB-612 PBJs based in the Mariana Islands. A 318th Fighter Group P-47 downs an A6M Zero over Iwo Jima at 1000 hours. [![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() BurmaThe Japanese contingent on its way to Bhamo takes Tonk-wa, defended by part of the Chinese 22nd Div. To the west, the British IV Corps prepares to advance to the Irrawaddy in the area of Pokokku, with the intention of crossing to the east of the great river and advancing on Meiktila and Thazi. [![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ChinaThe Japanese of the 11th Army join up with units coming up from Indo-China. [![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Eastern FrontIn Hungary the Russians widen the breach opened north of Budapest by the 2nd Ukraine Front. South of the city, advance units of the 3rd Ukraine Front are only 10 miles from Szekesfehervar. The Germans repel enemy efforts to break through between Lake Balaton and the Drava. SOUTHERN SECTORThe 4th Guards Army attacks the Hungarian 3rd Army north of Lake Balaton, moving to within 10 miles of Szekesfehervar. The 57th Army establishes firm positions between the lake and the Danube. [![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Italy8th Army troops cross the Lamone River south of Faenza. [![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() PacificThe US submarines Paddle (SS-263) and Hammerhead (SS-364), attacking from opposite sides of a Japanese Singaport-to-Manila convoy, sink the merchant tanker Shoei Maru (2854t). [![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() PhilippinesOn Leyte in the north, in the US X Corps sector, the Americans try to cut the Japanese supply lines beyond the hills southeast of Limon. In the XXIV Corps sector, a regiment of the 77th Division, with a battalion of tanks and a flamethrower unit, comes within less than a mile of Ormoc. The Japanese 26th Division attacks on Buri airfield are repelled. Elements of the 1st Cavalry Division capture Wright, the end of the Taft-Wright Highway on Samar. American troops work with Philippine guerillas to clear the entire highway. [![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Volcano Islands3 American heavy cruisers and their destroyer escorts under Rear-Adm A. E. Smith bombard Iwo Jima along with B-24 and B-29 bombers. The airfields and coast defenses are the targets. This operation is repeated twice more during Dec. [![]() ![]() Western FrontPlans are prepared for an attack by the VII Corps, US 1st Army, in the region between the Inde and Rur rivers, and on the town of Düren, the final objective of the offensive. In the sector of Dillingen and Saarlautern, the 90th and 95th Divs have to face a heavy German counterattack. The 35th Div of XII Corps also crosses the Saar. [![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Images from December 8, 1944
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[December 7th - December 9th] |