Air Operations, Bonin Islands

23 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Chichi Jima.

Air Operations, CBI

• 38 10th Air Force P-47s attack troops and supplies at 5 locations.
• 12 P-47s attack targets of opportunity along the rail line between Nawghkio and Sinlum.
• 8 P-47s attack the airfield at Lashio.
• 6 P-47s support Allied ground troops near Si-U.

• 6 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the ferry at Kunlong.
• 3 B-25s attack a tanker in the South China Sea.
• More than 100 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, buildings, and lines of supply and communication across southern China.
• A 118th Tactical Fighter Squadron P-51 downs a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter near the Kaitak airfield on Hong Kong at 1125 hours.
• A 311th Fighter Group P-51 downs a Ki-48 'Lily' bomber over the Tsinan airfield at noon.

Air Operations, East Indies

• FEAF B-24s attack the Kudat airfield on Borneo.
• FEAF fighter-bombers attack the Goeroea area in the Molucca Islands and targets of opportunity throughout the region.

Air Operations, Europe

• The Allied Tactical Air Forces fly 600 sorties over the Ardennes. 260 planes drop supplies on Bastogne.
• 50 He-111s, modified to carry and launch V-1s in flight, attack the Manchester area. 1 missile is on target. 17 fall near. 37 are killed and 67 injured. Steps are immediately take to strengthen AA defenses, but there are no more attacks.
• The first jet bomber operation takes place when twin-engined German Arado 234B bombers raid a factory and marshaling yards. The raid is led by Capt Dieter Lukesch.

• 338 aircraft including 248 Halifaxes, 79 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of Nos. 4, 6 and 8 Groups attack the airfields at Lohausen and Mülheim (now Düsseldorf and Essen civil airports). The purpose of the raids is not recorded. It is possible that they are to hinder the movement of supplies by transport aircraft from the Ruhr to the Ardennes battle area. Both attacks take place in conditions of good visibility and the bombing is accurate.
• 6 aircraft are lost - 2 Lancasters and 1 Halifax from the Lohausen raid and 3 Halifaxes from the Mülheim raid.

• 104 Lancasters of No. 3 Group carry out an accurate attack on Hangelar airfield near Bonn. The results are unknown.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.
• 97 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of Nos. 1 and 8 Groups are sent to Cologne/Nippes. The Oboe marking and the resultant bombing are extremely accurate. The railway tracks are severely damaged and an ammunition train is blown up. The nearby Butzweilerhof airfield is also damaged.
• 5 Lancasters are lost and 2 more crash in England.

• 2 Mosquitos are sent to Münster, 12 Halifaxes of No. 6 Group lay mines off Oslo, 8 aircraft are on Resistance operations, and there are 42 Mosquito patrols and 42 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Philippines

• 22 22nd Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Clark Field on Luzon.
• FEAF B-24s attack the Puerto Princesa airfield on Palawan.
• V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack the Silay airfield on Negros, barracks at San Roque, shipping in Davao Bay, port facilities at Zamboanga, and various targets of opportunity throughout the Philippines.
• 348th Fighter Group P-47s down 33 Japanese fighters near the Floridablanca airfield on Luzon and over Clark Field, Luzon between 1015 and 1150 hours. 4 P-47s are lost.
• A VMF(N)-541 F6F downs 2 J2M 'Jack' fighters over the Bulen airfield on Luzon at 1915 hours.
• During the day, Japanese aircraft sink 2 US tankers bound for Mindoro with aviation gasoline, and during the night, a Japanese Navy bomber destroys a 100,000-gallon aviation-gasoline storage tank at Hill Field on Mindoro. These losses will restrict flight operations from the Mindoro air bases for several weeks.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

US Navy surface forces, 23 XXI Bomber Command B-29s, 50 VII Bomber Command B-24s, and 17 318th Fighter Group P-38 fighter-bombers attack airfields on Iwo Jima.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-806 sinks the Canadian minesweeper Clayoquot, escorting Convoy XB-139, near Halifax with the loss of 8 of her crew. 73 survivors are rescued.

Britain, Home Front

Maj Glenn Miller, Director of the USAAF band, is reported missing over the Channel in a light plane which took off on December 15. He was 35.

Burma

In the British XXXIII Corps sector, the British 2nd Div and the 20th Indian Div overcome the dogged Japanese resistance in the Pyingaing area.

Eastern Front

The Soviet Supreme Command announces that in the course of the past 3 days the 3rd Ukraine Front, after breaking through the German lines southwest of Budapest in the area between Lake Velencei and the Danube, has advanced 25 miles and taken 160 towns and villages, including the important strongholds of Szekesfehervar and Bicske. The Germans' escape route from Budapest is now no more than 18 miles wide.

Budapest is on the verge of encirclement. The 6th Guards Tank Army attacks toward Esztergom north of the Danube but meets fierce resistance from the 6th Army. The Germans hurriedly redeploy the 8th SS Cavalry Division to Buda to block the roads into the city from the west. German defenses in this area are extremely weak.

English Channel

The transport Leopoldville is sunk by U-486. 819 are drowned.

Greece

Prime Minister Churchill and Foreign Secretary Eden visit Athens to help resolve the political crisis. The fighting is dying down.

Sweden, Home Front

The Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagblader quotes Portuguese travellers from Lonson telling of the huge damage caused by the V-2 rockets. It reports (quite falsely) 3 Thames bridges destroyed and no buildings left standing within a 500-yard radius of Leicester Square.

United States, Home Front

All beef products are rationed once more. New quotas are introduced for most other commodities also.

Volcano Islands

On Iwo Jima a US naval squadron commanded by Rear-Adm A. E. Smith bombards the airfields and other installations on the island. Two Japanese transports, Nos. 8 and 157, are sunk by naval gunfire.

Western Front

The German offensive in the Ardennes is brought to a halt by the end of the day. The longest advance is by 2nd Pzr Div to just outside Dinant. They form the point of the German wedge and on their flanks they have the 116th Pzr to the north near Hotten and to the south the Pzr Lehr Div west of St Hubert. Opposing the German units, now much weakened when compared with Dec 16, are the main forces of US 1st and 3rd Armies, the British XXX Corps and, of course, the Bastogne defenders.

In the French 1st Army sector, the US 3rd Div liberates Bennwihr, thus completing the operations in the Colmar sector.

Images from December 24, 1944

Patrol leader gives directions to his men before a scouting patrol in Italy, 24 December 1944

Scouting Patrol in Italy

Manhay (a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg, southwest of Malmedy), 24 December 1944

Manhay, Belgium

Italian civilians, and British and American soldiers during a Midnight mass on Christmas Eve in Italy, 24 December 1944

Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve

458th Bomb Group, December 24, 1944

British Forces Celebrate Christmas in Venray, Holland, 24 December 1944

Abandoned German equipment - Celles, December 1944

American Servicemen Returning from a Mountain Patrol in Italy on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1944

Protestant 11 o'clock Services on Christmas Eve in Italy, 24 December 1944