Air Operations, CBI

• 8 10th Air Force B-25s attack bridges at 3 locations, a bypass road at Lashio, and troops, artillery positions, and supplies at 3 locations.
• 23 10th Air Force P-47s attack bridges at 3 locations.

• 2 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 16 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack artillery positions, rail targets, and town areas around Hengyang and Leiyang.
• More than 40 fighter-bombers attack targets across southern China and northern French Indochina.

• 20 51st Fighter Group P-40s and P-51s attack Gia Lam airfield at Hanoi.

Air Operations, East Indies

• FEAF B-24s attack shipping in the Sunda Islands.
• B-25s attack the Haroekoe, Kairatoe, Laha airfields on Ceram.
• Various FEAF aircraft mount light attacks against Borneo, Celebes, Halmahera, Tanimbar, and Timor.

Air Operations, Europe

• 167 Lancasters of No. 3 Group attacked the marshalling yards at Cologne/Gremberg with accurate bombing.
• There are no losses.

• 1 Hudson makes a Resistance flight.

• 129 Lancasters, 46 Halifaxes and 11 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 4 and 8 Groups are sent to hit Münchengladbach. The railway yards aere the aiming point, but little damage is caused there.
• There are no losses.
• 162 Lancasters and 16 Mosquitos of Nos. 1 and 8 Groups are sent to hit Bonn. The intention again is to bomb the railway installations. Bomber Command's report states that the main weight of the attack fell on the railway yards, causing 'considerable damage'.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.
• 67 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of No. 5 Group attack a 'large naval unit' and some merchant ships in Oslo Fjord, but no direct hits are claimed.
• There are no losses.

• 87 Mosquitos are sent to Frankfurt, 79 to the city and 8 to the railway yards, 16 Halifaxes of No. 6 Group lay mines in the Skagerrak and 11 Lancasters of No. 5 Group off Oslo, 12 aircraft are on Resistance operations, and there are 45 Mosquito patrols and 35 RCM sorties.
• 1 mine-laying Halifax is lost and 1 Mosquito from the Frankfurt raid crashes in France.

Air Operations, Philippines

• 22nd Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Clark Field on Luzon.
• Various FEAF aircraft mount light attacks against Mindanao, Mindoro, Palawan, and the Lingayan Gulf area of Luzon.
• Throughout the day, beginning at 0330 hours, a 99-ship re-supply convoy bound for Mindoro is constantly heckled by individual and small groups of Japanese aircraft. No air cover can be furnished because of bad weather over the airfields in range. An ammunition ship carrying bombs is vaporized with all hands after being hit by a flaming airplane at 1012 hours, and another cargo vessel is severely damaged in the same attack, by 6 bombers based on Cebu. The next large attack, composed of as many as 30 aircraft, occurs between 1830 and 2015 hours, and an LST is mortally damaged.
• A 418th Night Fighter Squadron P-61 crew downs 2 Ki-61 'Tony' fighters near Mindoro at 0010 and 0025 hours, respectively.
• During the night, 4 345th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Clark Field, Luzon at low level.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

13 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Iwo Jima.

Italy

In the US 5th Army sector, the units of the 8th Indian Div advance north along the valley of the Serchio, while the German troops begin to withdraw northward. The projected advance toward Bologna by the US 5th Army is postponed because of the losses sustained in the Serchio valley fighting, but the Germans have already started to with draw from the valley.

Pacific

The tank landing craft LST-750 is damaged by an aircraft torpedo and later sunk by US forces.

Western Front

Gen Eisenhower has a meeting with Field-Marshal Montgomery at Hasselt, in Belgium, and studies the counter-measures to be taken in the Ardennes. Meanwhile units of Patton's 3rd Army prepare a counteroffensive between the Sauer and Wiltz Rivers, while the XII Corps, which now has the 6th Arm Div under command, is deployed in defensive positions.

Images from December 28, 1944

A soldier from the 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade, 7th Armoured Division, emerges from his foxhole armed with a PIAT, 28 December 1944. The Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank fired a 2.5 pound charge which was effective up to 100 yards for armour less than 4? thick, although a skilled user could only accurately hit such a target about 40% of the time. The user usually sustained bruising from the recoil.

Soldier with a PIAT

A medic tends to an injured bazooka team soldier during his unit's drive through the Ardennes, 28 December 1944

Medic Tending to Wounded Soldier

South African Tankmen in Italy, 28 December 1944

A shattered German tank, its turret torn off by anti-tank fire, symbolising the ferocity of the American defence of their positions at Bastogne, the key town in the Ardennes

Shattered German Tank

An American soldier examines an abandoned PzKpfw V Panther tank near the village of Manhay

American Soldier Examines Tank

Lt Thomas of the US Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, followed by other troops, moves to winkle out German snipers in the outskirts of Beffe

Looking For Snipers

Royal Australian Airforce 454 Sqn Baltimore's bombing the rail yards at Castelfranco Veneto, Italy on 28 December 1944

Bombing of Castelfranco Veneto

South African soldiers unpacking shell for tank behind them, 28 December 1944. 5/MM-44-32549. Fifth Army, Monzuno, Italy. These South African tank men fight for the first time in snow country in rugged Apennines. General activity around the tank. Photo by Schmidt. 3131 Signal Service Co.” Monzuno, Italy. 28 December 1944

Soldiers Unpacking Shell for Tank