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.

• 330 1st Bomb Division B-17s, 284 2nd Bomb Division B-24s, and 510 3rd Bomb Division B-17s attack rail bridges and marshalling yards throughout western Germany.
• 2 B-24s are lost, but there are no losses among the 568 VIII Fighter Command escorts.

• The entire 9th Air Force is grounded by bad weather.

• 12th Air Force medium bombers attack a supply dump and a troop concentration.
• XXII TAC P-47s support the US 5th Army and attack roads, bridges, and a motor-vehicle depot.
• During the night, XXII TAC A-20s attack vehicles, road bridges, rail lines, ferry crossings, and targets of opportunity in the Po River valley.

• 15th Air Force B-17s attack marshalling yards at Salzburg and four other locations.

• 15th Air Force B-24s attack oil refineries at Pardubice and two other locations, and an oil storage depot.

• 15th Air Force B-17s attack an oil depot and freight yard at Regensburg.

• 15th Air Force B-24s attack lines of communication around Brenner Pass.

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.

Norwegian Sea

U-735 is sunk during a bombing rais while alongside at Horten.

U-735

Pacific

• The tank landing craft LST-750 is damaged by an aircraft torpedo and later sunk by US forces.
• The US submarine Dace (SS-247) attacks a Japanese convoy off Cape Varella, French Indochina, and sinks the supply ship Nozaki (1000t) and damages Chefoo Maru.

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

Soldier with a PIAT

Medic Tending to Wounded Soldier

South African Tankmen in Italy

Shattered German Tank

American Soldier Examines Tank

Looking For Snipers

Bombing of Castelfranco Veneto

Soldiers Unpacking Shell for Tank