This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

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WESTERN FRONT: US 3rd Army crosses the Saar River. Elements of the US 3rd Army enter Saareguemines which is defended by German forces. In Holland, the British 2nd Army is held up southwest of Arnhem by the German demolition of dikes and the consequent flooding.

HMS 'Bullen' (K 469) (LtCdr A.H. Parish, RN) of the 19th Escort Group was sunk by a Gnat from 'U-775' off Strathy Point in the Pentland Firth. HMS 'Loch Insh' (K 433) (T/A/LtCdr E.W.C. Dempster, DSC, RNVR) and HMS 'Goodall' (K 479) (LtCdr J.V. Fulton, RNVR) of the same Escort Group hunted the U-boat for the next 14 hours but she escaped undamaged.

'U-297' was sunk in the North Atlantic, 16 miles west of Yesnaby in the Orkney Islands, by 6 depth charges from a British Sunderland aircraft (Sqdn. 201). 50 dead (all hands lost). The wreck was discovered and identified in May 2000 by Ian Trumpness and Kevin Heath of Stromness. It had been listed on fishing charts but believed to be an unknown fishing vessel. It lies in 285 feet of water.

MEDITERRANEAN: In Liberated Greece fighting between government forces, support by British troops, and Communist rebels continues. General Scobie claims there is evidence of a number of former German soldiers being employed by the ELAS forces.

Lieutenant General Lucian Truscott is appointed commander of the US 5th Army fighting in Italy. He replaces Lt. Gen. Mark Clark.

British 8th Army crosses the Lamone river.

(US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, heavy cloud cover, increasing in density throughout the day, severely restricts operations; medium bombers are grounded except for 1 reconnaissance sortie; XXII Tactical Air Command fighters and fighter-bombers fly less than 100 sorties, attacking communications in the Brescia, Verona, and Mantua areas; the 87th Fighter Squadron, 79th Fighter Group, moves from Iesi to Fano with P-47s; the 97th Bombardment Squadron (Light), 47th Bombardment Group (Light), moves from Rosignano Airfield to Grossetto with A-20s.

GERMANY: (US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 741: 818 bombers and 830 fighters are dispatched to hit oil and rail targets in Germany; all except 9 aircraft bomb using H2X; 4 bombers and 1 fighter are lost: 1. 533 B-17s, in 2 forces, are sent to hit the Leuna oil plant at Merseburg (446); targets of opportunity are Hannover (16), Merseburg (14) and other (24); 4 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 172 damaged; 4 airmen are WIA and 37 MIA. 12 of 12 B-17s fly a screening mission. Escorting are 534 P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA), 1 damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged. 2. 112 of 119 B-24s hit the marshalling yard at Bielefeld; 1 hits a target of opportunity; 52 B-24s are damaged. Escorting are 94 of 104 P-51s without loss. 3. 140 of 154 B-24s hit Minden Aqueduct; 9 hit the Lockum rail junction; 26 B-24s are damaged. Escorting are 91 P-47s and P-51s without loss. 4. 28 of 32 P-51s fly a scouting force mission. Mission 742: 11 of the 4 B-17s and 11 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 154 A-20s and B-26s bomb the defended areas of Munstereifel, Erkelenz, Nideggen, and Daun; fighters escort the bombers, fly armed reconnaissance and night patrol, attack bridges, gun positions, and other targets, and provide air cover for the US V, VII, and XII Corps in the areas of Sarreguemines, France and Bergstein, and Lucherberg, and along the Saar River, Germany.

Leuna: 475 RAF Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 3 and 8 Groups. 5 Lancasters lost. This was the first major attack on an oil target in Eastern Germany; Leuna, near the town of Merseburg, just west of Leipzig, was 250 miles from the German frontier and 500 miles from the bombers' bases in England. There was considerable cloud in the target area but post-raid photographs showed that considerable damage had been caused to the synthetic-oil plant.

Osnabrück: 453 RAF aircraft - 363 Halifaxes, 72 Lancasters, 18 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 7 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster lost. This was the first major raid on Osnabrück since August 1942. The raid was only a partial success. The railway yards were only slightly damaged but 4 factories were hit, including the Teuto-Metallwerke munitions factory, and 203 houses were destroyed.

Giessen: 255 RAF Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of No 5 Group. 8 Lancasters lost. There were two aiming points for this raid. 168 aircraft were allocated to the town centre and 87 to the railway yards. Severe damage was caused at both places.

42 RAF Mosquitos to Berlin, 10 to Schwerte and 2 to Hanau, 37 RCM sorties, 47 Mosquito patrols. 2 Mosquitos lost - 1 from the Berlin raid and an Intruder aircraft which crashed in France.

Flugkapitän Peter flies the first He 162 'Salamander' from Schwechat airfield. The aircraft lands after 20 minutes in the air and it is soon found that the wood adhesive problems discovered on earlier wood-component aircraft is now affecting the Volksjäger.

Hans-Heinz Augenstein, a forty-six victory night-fighter with NJG 1, is killed in action near Munster.

EASTERN FRONT: (US Fifteenth Air Force):270+ B-17s and B-24s attack marshalling yards at Graz, Austria; Szombathely, Sopron, Nagycenk, Hegyeshalom, and the town of Zalaegerszey, Hungary; Maribor, Yugoslavia; and Bratislava, and Devinska Nova Ves, Czechoslovakia, plus scattered targets of opportunity; P-51s and P-38s escort the bombers, cover Royal Air Force (RAF) supply missions to Yugoslavia, and strafe Vienna, Austria.

 

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WESTERN FRONT: The Allies hold a conference at Maastricht. General Dwight Eisenhower announces the decision for the main land effort into Germany to be led by British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery with ten US divisions serving directly under him.

The US 3rd Army penetrates the Siegfried Line northwest of Saarlautern.

In Belgium, the 107th and 109th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadrons, 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, based at Gosselies begin operating from Chievres with F-6s.

EASTERN FRONT: In Hungary, Soviet forces reach Lake Balaton, southwest of Budapest. To the south, Baros on the Drava River is captured.

In Liberated Romania a new government takes office. It is led by General Nicolae Radescu and pledges to fully implement the terms of the armistice, to provide assistance to the Allies and to purge all pro-Nazis.

At 10.10 hours BO-229 (SrLt Rovanov) was hit by a Gnat from 'U-997', broke in two and sank in a few minutes. The vessel had Captain 3rd class I.N. Gritsjuk aboard, who was leading a submarine hunt together with the Soviet patrol craft BO-150, BO-227 and BO-228. One hour earlier they had dropped some depth charges on a contact off Kola Bay, but continued the hunt after about 20 minutes. The survivors were picked up by BO-227, among them both badly wounded commanders.

MEDITERRANEAN: In Italy, weather grounds medium bombers; fighters and fighter-bombers, despite the weather, attack railroads, roads, bridges, rolling stock, and other targets over widespread areas of N Italy, from La Spezia to N of the Po River Valley; bad weather obscures most primary targets but alternate targets are fairly successfully hit.

GERMANY: (US Fifteenth Air Force):In Austria, 31 B-17s and B-24s make a predawn raids on Salzburg, Klagenfurt, Villach, and the Lienz marshalling yards, communications targets in Wolfsberg, Spittal an der Drau, Mittersill, and Sankt Veit in Defereggen, and Trieste, Italy. P-38s, and P-51s fly reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort missions.

53 RAF Mosquitos to Cologne and 7 to Hanau, 3 RCM sorties. No losses.

 

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AUSTRIA: Again hitting communications targets in a predawn attack, 27 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb eight targets: seven aircraft hit the marshalling yard (M/Y) at Klagenfurt, six attack the Main M/Y at Graz; five each bomb the Moosbierbaum benzine refinery at Vienna and the M/Y at Villach; and one each targets of opportunity at Gleisdorf and Volkermarkt and the cities of Ybbs and St. Polten. Later in the day P-38s fly photo and weather reconnaissance missions. P-51s escort the photo reconnaissance flights over the Vienna area.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, after receiving the surrender of Fort Driant, the 2d Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division, turns over the Metz sector, where Fort Jeanne d'Arc is still holding out, to the 87th Infantry Division of the III Corps. In the XII Corps area, the 35th Infantry Division attacks across the Sarre River, the 134th Infantry Regiment crossing by a bridge south of Sarreguemines and the 320th Infantry Regiment by boats in the region to the east; the 134th clears Sarreinsming and pushes northeast under heavy fire from Sarreguemines; the 320th, whose 3d Battalion is unable to cross until the night of 8/9 December, establishes a bridgehead and with the aid of artillery and fighter-bombers halts a counterattack as it is forming.
The 26th Infantry Division attacks the Maginot Line within its sector after artillery and air preparation: the 328th Infantry Regiment begins an assault on Fort Wittring and Grand Bois, fighting through the night of 8/9 December; the 104th Infantry Regiment, to the right, easily takes
four mutually supporting forts in the Achen area.
In the U.S. Seventh Army's XV Corps area, the 44th Infantry Division pushes into Encherberg and the 100th Infantry Division into Lemberg, but the Germans are defending both towns. The VI Corps is conducting a deception program to lead the Germans to expect a Rhine River crossing
in the Strasbourg area or an attack in the vicinity of Bischwiller.
The 45th Infantry Division begins an attack on Niederbronn.
In the 79th Infantry Division zone, the 94th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron clears Gambsheim.
In the French First Army area, the French II Corps is still undergoing lively counterattacks. The U.S. 36th Infantry Division troops are driving on Kayserberg. I Corps gains a foothold in Thann.

GERMANY: In the U.S. Ninth Army's XIX Corps area, the 29th Infantry Division's 115th Infantry Regiment reduces Hasenfeld Gut and sportplatz strongpoints in the Juelich area with help of assault guns and smoke.
In the U.S. First Army area, the VII Corps is ordered to attack on 10 December to clear the region between the Inde and Roer Rivers and the approaches to Dueren, the corps' objective. In the V Corps area, a battalion of the 13th Infantry Regiment relieves the 2d Ranger Battalion on Castle Hill. In their 2-day stay there, the Rangers have lost more than 25-percent of their original strength.
In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the 357th Infantry Regiment is again subjected to major counterattacks in the 90th Infantry Division's Dillingen bridgehead, but forces the Germans back in hand-to-hand fighting; local German counterattacks keep the 358th Infantry Regiment largely on the defensive, although elements push across the railroad tracks to take Dillingen station; the reserve regiment, the 359th Infantry Regiment, crosses into the bridgehead, during the night of 8/9
December.
The 95th Infantry Division is very slowly expanding its Saarlautern bridgehead, fighting from house to house and from pillbox to pillbox; the 2d Battalion, 378th Infantry Regiment, joins the parent regiment in Ensdorf after crossing the river in assault boats. The 6th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) takes over the sector on the southern flank of the corps from elements of the 5th Infantry Division.
Twenty nine USAAF Ninth Air Force A-26 Invaders hit the Sinzig rail bridge. Fighters escort the RAF, bomb gun positions, bridges, and city areas, fly armed reconnaissance, and support the U.S. V and VII Corps W of Schmidt and Duren, and XX Corps and XII Corps in the Dillingen
and Sarreguemines, France areas.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command attacks three targets:
- 205 Lancasters are dispatched to attack the Urft Dam at Heimbach; 129 bomb the target with the loss of one aircraft. Bombing is affected by 9/10ths cloud and no results are seen.
- 163 Lancasters are dispatched to bomb the marshalling yards at Duisburg; 159 bomb the target.
- 30 Mosquitos are sent to attack the Meiderich benzene refinery near Duisburg; 28 bomb the target.

HUNGARY: Soviet forces, Berlin admits, "widen their breach" north of Budapest. Troops of the Third Ukrainian Front clearing the region between Lake Balaton and the Danube River are roughly 10 miles from Szekesfehervar. The Germans are warding off breakthrough attempts between Lake Balaton and the Drava River.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army's British XIII Corps area, the Germans abandon the rest of Mt. Penzola.
In the British Eighth Army's area, British troops cross the Lamone River.
Weather again greatly curtails operations.
Four USAAF Twelfth Air Force P-47s on weather reconnaissance of the western Po River Valley attack trains, claiming the destruction of four locomotives and damage of almost 100 train cars.

 

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ARCTIC OCEAN: In the Barents Sea, German submarine U-387 is sunk about 43 nautical miles (80 kilometers) north of Murmansk, U.S.S.R., in position 69.41N, 33.12E, by depth charges from the British corvette HMS Bamborough Castle (K 412); all 51 crewmen are lost.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-650 is listed as missing with 47 crewmen. The boat probably sunk in the North Atlantic or the Arctic Ocean but the cause and exact position is unknown.

AUSTRIA: USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack four targets: 56 bomb the industrial area at Linz, 15 hit the marshalling yard (M/Y) at Villach and one each attack the M/Y at Klagenfurt and the city of Spittal. P-51s and P-38s escort the heavy bombers and fly reconnaissance missions.

BELGIUM: At 1137 hours, a German A4 (V-2) rocket is fired and impacts the Antwerp area; 43 are killed, 94 injured and 43 houses are destroyed. At 1504 hours, a second A4 lands in Antwerp on Meir-Kathelynevest (Building of Agence Maritime); 25 are killed, 45 injured and 14 houses are destroyed.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Sixteen USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack the Skoda armament works at Plzen. Fighters escort the heavy bombers and fly reconnaissance missions.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army's XII Corps area; the 1st Battalion of the 137th Infantry Regiment is sent to Sarreguemines to mop up in the western part of city, since the 134th Infantry Regiment can make little headway until this is done; the 320th Infantry Regiment moves forward more rapidly because of the 26th Infantry Division's action to the right. The 328th Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division, completes the capture of Fort Witiring by dawn and after daylight finds that the Germans have abandoned Fort Grand Bois; the 104th Infantry Regiment is pushing steadily toward Gros Réderching.
In the Sixth Army Group's U.S. XV Corps area, Combat Command A of the 12th Armored Division, driving northeast on the left flank of corps, takes Singling. Enchenberg falls to the 44th Infantry Division and Lemberg to the 100th Infantry Division. In the U.S. VI Corps area, the 45th Infantry Division clears Niederbronn. The 79th Infantry Division overruns Bischwiller and pushes to the edge of Haguenau.
In the French First Army area, II Corps is still strongly opposed but clears Mittelwihr. In the I Corps area, the 2d Moroccan Division continues clearing Thann. The 4th Mountain Division is meeting vigorous opposition at Lutterbach.

GERMANY: In the U.S. Ninth Army's XIX Corps area, the 30th Infantry Division is ordered to secure region between Inde and Roer Rivers within its zone.
In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the 90th Infantry Division commits its full strength to the Dillingen bridgehead battle: The 359th Infantry Regiment begins clearing mutually supporting fortifications between the 357th and 358th Infantry Regiments, easing pressure on the right flank of the 357th; the 357th holds its weak perimeter on the northern flank of the bridgehead against repeated counterattacks that are debilitating to both sides; the supply situation of the 358th, fighting indecisively along the railroad tracks in Dillingen, improves as rafting operations are begun in the afternoon and the first tank crosses by treadway ferry in the evening, but the 359th and 357th Regiments must still rely on assault boats, carrying parties, and aircraft for reinforcement and supply. The 95th Infantry Division continues their almost futile efforts to expand the Saarlautern bridgehead; the supply problem is intensified by the rapidly rising Sarre River. With the relief of
the 10th Infantry Regiment on the southern flank of the corps by the 6th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) , the 5th Infantry Division is able to assemble in preparation for the attack on the West Wall. In the XII Corps area, the 35th Infantry Division's bridgeheads across the Sarre River continue to receive heavy German fire, but two Class 40 bridges are completed by midnight.
The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 743: 413 B-17s are dispatched to hit four targets in Stuttgart: 257 bomb the Unterturkheim Marshalling Yard with the loss of one B-17, 62 hit Echterdingen Airfield and 57 attack Bobblingen Airfield; 17 other aircraft hit targets of opportunity at Balingen, Schorndorf, Tubingen and other points in Germany. Escorting are 247 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft without loss.
Two hundred fifty four USAAF Ninth Air Force A-20s, A-26s, and B-26s bomb defended villages, storage depots, barracks area, and marshalling yard in western Germany. Fighters escort the 9th Bombardment Division aircraft, sweep the Landau and Saarbrucken areas, attack Zulpich and a bridge at Euskirchen, and support the U.S. XII and XX Corps in the Sarreguemines, France, and Saar River area and around Dillingen.
USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack three targets: 79 bomb the Winterhafen oil refinery and oil storage facilities at Regensburg with the loss of three aircraft; two hit the locomotive works at Rosenheim and one attack the city of Regen. Fighters escort the heavy bombers and fly reconnaissance missions.
During the night of 9/10 December, RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos hit three cities: 56 bomb Berlin with the loss of one, seven bomb Koblenz and 4 attack a benzine oil plant at Meiderich.

HUNGARY: Moscow confirms German reports of the Soviet breakthrough northeast of Budapest, announcing that forces of the Second Ukrainian Front have reached the Danube River bend at Vac. Other troops of this front, having crossed to the western bank of the Danube from Csepel Island., south of Budapest, gain contact with troops of the Third Ukrainian Front at Lake Velencei, between the Danube and Lake Balaton. Budapest is thus about two-thirds encircled.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army's British XIII Corps area, the 78th Division extends eastward to Mt. dell'Acqua Saluta-M. del Verro area as the 6th Armoured Division prepares to continue the offensive.
In the British Eighth Army area, V Corps contains determined counterattacks but in so doing is too weakened to exploit this success and suspends the offensive.
Bad weather grounds USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers. Fighters and fighter-bombers attack communications in the central and northeast Po River Valley.

UNITED KINGDOM: The blackout regulations are relaxed.

WESTERN EUROPE: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 744: Four B-17s and seven B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night without loss.

YUGOSLAVIA: Sofia, Bulgaria, announces that Bulgar and Yugoslav Armies, assisted by Soviet aircraft, have completed the expulsion of Germans from Serbia and Macedonia during the last few days.

 

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AUSTRIA: Six USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17s dispatched to bomb targets in Germany, manage to bomb the marshalling yard at Klagenfurt as a target of opportunity.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army's XII Corps area, the main body of the 137th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division, crosses the Sarre River to clear the eastern part of Sarreguemines and begins a house-to-house battle. The 134th and 320th Infantry Regiments push toward the Blies River. Gros Réderching falls to the 104th Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division.
In the U.S. Seventh Army area, the newly arrived 63d and 42d Infantry Divisions, whose regiments are organized as Task Force Harris and Task Force Linden, respectively, are assigned to the army. In the XV Corps area, Combat Command A of the 12th Armored Division takes Rohrbach-lès- Bitche. The 44th Infantry Division secures the crossroads below Petit Réderching in brisk fighting. In the VI Corps area, the 45th Infantry Division seizes Reichshoffen and Gundershoffen. The 79th Infantry Division takes MarienthaI and Kaltenhouse but is still held up at Haguenau. Crossing the the Zintzel River, 103d Infantry Division troops clear the northern part of Mertzwiller.
In the French First Army's I Corps area, the 2d Moroccan Division completes the capture of Thann. The 9th Colonial Division reduces the last German bridgeheads west of the Rhine River between Kembs and the Swiss border.

GERMANY: Chancellor Adolf Hitler appoints Reichsführer- SS (British Field Marshal and U.S. 5-star General) Heinrich Himmler, commander of the Schutzstaffel or SS, to be Commander-in- Chief Army Group Oberrhein (Upper Rhine), and moves to his western front headquarters at Bad Neuheim.
In the U.S. First Army area, VII Corps begins coordinated attack to clear the west bank of the Roer River and the city of Dueren, employing the 104th Infantryt, 3d Armored, 9th Infantry and 83d Infantry Divisions. Elements of the 414th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry Division, attack toward the village of Schophoven and Pier; penetrate into Pier but are forced out. In the 9th Infantry Division zone in the center, elements of the 3d Armored Division, assisted by the 60th Infantry Regiment, thrust to Obergeich and gain positions in Echtz; elements of the 39th Infantry Regiment driving southeast from Obergeich get into position for an assault on Merode and Schlicht. The 83d Infantry Division pushes into the villages of Gey and Strass, northeast of Grosshau, with the 331st and 330th Infantry Regiments; 3 the 29th Infantry Regiment advances on the left flank.
In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the Germans make an all-out effort to destroy the Dillingen bridgehead, counterattacking all along the line. The 90th Infantry Division contains the onslaughts but cannot move forward. In the 95th Infantry Division's Saarlautern bridgehead, the 377th Infantry Regiment deepens their penetration into Fraulautern but the 378th and 379th Regiments are prevented by counterattacks from advancing.
The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 745: 534 bombers and 690 fighters are dispatched to make Pathfinder Force attacks and a fighter sweep in Germany; two fighters are lost. Two marshalling yards (M/Ys) are hit: 274 B-17s bomb the Lutzel M/Y at Koblenz and 173 B-24s attack the M/Y at Bingen; four other aircraft hit targets of opportunity.
About 130 USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26s bomb defended positions at Birkesdorf, and Huchem-Stammeln while fighters escort the 9th Bombardment Division, strafe and dive-bomb numerous targets in western Germany, and support the U.S. 8th, 9th, 83d, and 104th Infantry Divisions and the 3d and 5th Armored Divisions in the areas around Bergstein, Duren, and along the west bank of the Roer River.
Over 550 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s dispatched to bomb oil targets in Germany are recalled because of overcast weather.
During a demonstration flight before Luftwaffe, RLM and Nazi party officials, the prototype He 162 'Salamander', flown by Flugkapitän Peter, disintegrates and crashes at Schwechat airfield.

GREECE: Local political and military disturbances result in cancellation of liberty for USN sailors at Piraeus; Greek snipers wound two crewmen in tank landing ship USS LST-74.

HUNGARY: The Soviet Second Ukrainian Front pushes in toward Pest, the portion of Budapest east of the Danube River. The Germans are withstanding Soviet attacks southwest of Budapest and near Miskoic.

ITALY: In the British Eighth Army area, the Canadian I Corps begins an attack across the Lamone River late in day.
USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers bomb bridges, fills, and a tunnel in the Brenner Pass area, hit the Fidenza bridge and barracks at Bologna, and support the British Eighth Army in the Faenza area, bombing defensive positions. The XXII Tactical Air Command targets are again predominantly communications north of the US Fifth Army battle zone.
During the night of 10/11 December USAAF Twelfth Air Force A-20s attack vehicles, lights, railway lines, roads, river ferries, and pontoon bridges in the Po River Valley.

U.S.S.R.: The French and Soviet governments signed a 20-year Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance. Brigadier General Charles-André De Gaulle, Prime Minister of the Provisional Government, negotiated the agreement with the Soviets in Moscow.

YUGOSLAVIA: In the northern part of the country, the Soviet and Yugoslav forces driving toward Vinkovci penetrate into Vukovar.

 

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ATLANTIC OCEAN: In the Caribbean Sea, the steady decline in U-boat activity in the Caribbean during the year permits a reduction of non-rigid airship (blimp) operations over the southern approaches, and Fleet Airship Wing Five at Trinidad is disestablished.

AUSTRIA: Four hundred thirty five USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s, with fighter escorts, are dispatched to attack numerous targets: In Vienna, 205 bomb the Moosbierbaum benzine refinery with the loss of eight aircraft, 98 hit the Matzleinsdorf railroad station with the loss of five aircraft and 59 attack the South ordnance depot with the loss of three aircraft; 48 bomb the Main marshalling yard at Graz with the loss of one aircraft; and 31 bombers attack targets of opportunity.

FRANCE: French women dance for joy as they are freed from a German prison in the Alsatian town of Hagenau during its liberation today.
In the U.S. Third Army's XII Corps area, the 137th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division finishes clearing Sarreguemines, except for a few snipers, and blocks at Frauenberg; the main body of the division continues toward the Blies River; at night, the division prepares to attack across the Blies on 12 December. The 328th Infantry Regiment, 26 Infantry Division, continues toward the German frontier.
In the U.S. Seventh Army's XV Corps area, the elements of the 44th Infantry Division take Petit Réderching; others reach Siersthal. In the VI Corps area, Haguenau falls to the 79th Infantry Division.

GERMANY: At his Adlerhorst headquarters near Bad Nauheim about 16 miles (26 kilometers) north-northeast of Frankfurt, German western front commanders note Chancellor Adolf Hitler's uncontrollable trembling and pale, puffy appearance as he orders Operation AUTUMN MIST, a major offensive through the Ardennes towards Antwerp.
In the U.S. First Army's VII Corps area, the Germans continue a successful defense of Pier and Schophoven, but elements of the 415th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry Division, take Merken and Vilvenich. The 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, and armor of the 3d Armored Division overrun Geich. Combat Command R of the 3d Armored Division, reinforced by a battalion of the 60th Infantry Regiment, makes a futile and costly effort to take Hoven. The 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, seizes Merode and Schlicht. In the VIII Corps area, the 106th Infantry Division, with the 14th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) attached, takes over positions in the Schnee Eifel formerly held by the 2d Infantry Division.
In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, 3 the 57th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division withdraws a little on the north flank of the Diilingen bridgehead in order to shorten the front and secure supply lines; the 359th and 358th Infantry Regiments attempt in vain to find a passage through the fortified belt between them; the 359th loses three pillboxes during a counterattack; the 90th Reconnaissance Troop takes responsibility for the west bank of the Sarre River so that the covering force previously deployed there can be used to strengthen the bridgehead. 95th Infantry Division expands Saariautern bridgehead in costly fighting: the 377th Infantry Regiment pushes to the center of Fraulautern; the 378th clears about five city blocks in Ensdorf; the progress of 379th in Saarlautern- Roden is negligible.
The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 746: The largest number of bombers so far dispatched, 1,586, and 841 fighters are sent to hit rail targets and bridges in western Germany using Pathfinder Force means; five bombers and two fighters are lost: 365 B-17s bomb the marshalling yard (M/Y) at Giessen, 320 hit the M/Y at Frankfurt-am- Main and 135 attack the Mosel M/Y at Koblenz while 304 B-24s attack the M/Y at Hanau with the loss of four B-24s. B-17 crews also bomb a railroad bridge at Mannehim by 182 aircraft with the loss of one aircraft while 158 B-24s bomb a railroad bridge at Maximiliansau. Fourteen other aircraft hit targets of opportunity.
Over 200 USAAF Ninth Air Force bombers dispatched to bomb defended villages and storage areas are recalled because of weather; one bomber manages to bomb a stores depot at Reichenbach. Fighters escort the RAF, divebomb targets in cities, and support the U.S. 3d Armored Division in the Echtz-Geich area, the 104th Infantry Division at Merken, the 9th Infantry Division at Merode and Derichsweiler, and the 83d Infantry Division at Strass.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command aircraft attack three cities: (1) 233 Lancasters and five Mosquitos are dispatched to the Urft Dam at Heimbach; 180 aircraft bomb the target. Hits are scored but no breach is made; one Lancaster is lost. (2) Two targets in Bottrop are bombed by 148 Lancasters through cloud on the marshalling yards (96 aircraft) and on the benzol plant (52 aircraft). The bombing appears to be accurate; one Lancaster is lost. (3) Duisburg is attacked by 80 Mosquitos on Oboe-leader raids to the Bruckhausen coking plant (49 aircraft) and to the Meiderich benzol plant (31 aircraft). Most of the bombing on the benzol plant and approximately half on the coking plant appeared to be accurate. No aircraft lost.
During the night of 11/12 December, RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos attack six cities: 38 bomb Hannover, 25 hit Hamburg, eight each attack Bielefeld and Schwerte and one each bomb Dortmund and Oberhausen. One Mosquito is lost.

HUNGARY: One each USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers bomb the railroad at Kenyeri, the city of Szombathely and an airfield.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army's British XIII Corps area, the 6th Armoured Division is ordered to attack for Tossignano during the night of 12/13 December.
In the British Eighth Army's Canadian I Corps area, the Canadian 1st Division and 5th Armoured Division gain bridgeheads across the Lamone River and push to the Fosso Vecchio Canal. Tanks are unable to cross into the bridgehead. The Porter Force is dissolved, but elements continue to assist the 5th Armored Division.
USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers hit the Motta di Livenza bridge; fighters and fighter-bombers hit occupied areas, houses, guns, and defensive positions south of Bologna and attack railroad targets in the central Po River Valley.

WESTERN EUROPE: During the night of 11/12 December, the USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 747: three B-17s and eight B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany; one B-24 is lost.

YUGOSLAVIA: Thirty eight RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group fly a supply mission to partisans.

 

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ARCTIC OCEAN: In the Barents Sea off the northern coast of Norway, the Norwegian corvette HNoMS Tunsberg Castle (K 374) is mined and sunk off Batsfjord, Norway; five crewmen are lost.

AUSTRIA: Two USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack the Main marshalling yard at Graz while a third aircraft bombs the city of Gattersford.

BELGIUM: A German A4 (V-2) rockets lands in Antwerp at Hoboken in Lage Weg at 0748 hours; 44 people are injured.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack four cities: 11 hit a synthetic oil facility at Ostrava Moravaska and two each bomb marshalling yard at Libeau and the cities of Puchov and Troppau.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Seventh Army area, XV Corps is virtually halted by Maginot fortifications in the Hottviller-Bitche area, but Combat Command A, 12th Armored Division, reaches Bettviller, its objective. VI Corps commits the 14th Armored Division between the 103d and 79th Infantry Divisions. The 79th Infantry Division enters Soufflenheim as the Germans pull back toward the West Wall and it begins clearing Seltz.
In the French First Army area, General Jean-Joseph Lattre de Tassignym commander of the First Army, alters the plan of action, calling for the capture of Colmar and Cernay but deferring the drive to the Rhine River at Brisach unless circumstances are favorable. II Corps is to make the main effort through Colmar to Rouffach, where it will link up with I Corps coming from Cernay. I Corps is so spent that it suspends offensive until 15 December.

GERMANY: In the U.S. First Army's VII Corps area, the 104th Infantry Division takes Pier in a two-pronged assault and forces the Germans to withdraw across the Roer River. Elements of the 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, drive into Mariaweiler. Hoven is cleared of the Germans. Combat Command R, 3d Armored Division, and the 60th Infantry Regiment finish clearing most of the region west of the Roer River northwest and west of Dueren during the day. The 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, begins clearing Derichsweiler
In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the situation in the Dillingen bridgehead improves. The 357th Infantry Division, 90th Infantry Division, mops up bypassed resistance within its sector and the 359th and 358th Infantry Regiments establish contact, opening the corridor through a fortified belt through which tanks are moved to the 357th. A vehicular ferry is put into operation. An effective smoke screen permits delivery of tanks and tank destroyers to the bridgehead. Limited progress is made in the Saarlautern bridgehead by the 95th Infantry Division. The combat efficiency of both the 90th and 95th Infantry Divisions has been lowered sharply because of insufficient reinforcements and exhaustion.
In the XII Corps area, the 35th Infantry Division begins an attack across the lilies early in morning: the 1st Battalion, 134th Infantry Regiment, crosses and begins to clear Habkirchen, gaining a weak hold there; the 320th Infantry Regiment, assisted by tanks, clears Bliesbruck, France, on the near side of the river, in preparation for a crossing.
The 328th Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division, gets forward elements across the German border and its relief is begun by the 87th Infantry Division,
during the night of 12/13 December.
The USAAF Eighth Air Force Flies Mission 748: 895 bombers and 928 fighters are dispatched to make an H2X attack on Merseburg and visual attacks on rail targets; four bombers and seven P-51s are lost: 458 B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb a marshalling yard (M/Y) at Darmstadt; 347 B-17s hit the I.G. Farben synthetic oil plant at Merseberg with the loss of two aircraft; 275 B-24 Liberators bomb a M/Y at Hanau with the loss of three and 87 others bomb a M/Y at Aschaffenburg; and 47 other aircraft hit targets of opportunity.
Ninety USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26s and A-20 Havocs strike the defended villages of Gemund, Harperscheid, Hellenthal, Schleiden, Schoneseiffen, and Wollseifen, and the towns of Dorsel, Mayen, and Wiesbaden. Fighters fly armed reconnaissance and strafing and bombing missions in western Germany and support the U.S. 83d Infantry Division in the Strass-Gey area, cover the U.S. VII Corps in the Duren area and support the U.S. XII and XX Corps in the Habkirchen and Bliesbruck areas (the 35th Infantry Division assault across the Blies River) and Saarlautern-Dillengen. USAAF Fifteenth Air Force attack four cities: 51 bomb the I.G. Farben South synthetic oil plant at Blechhammer and five others hit targets of opportunity.
During the day, 140 RAF Bomber Command Lancasters are dispatched on a G-H raid to the Ruhrstahl steelworks at Witten; 136 bomb the target. German fighters intercept the force in the target area and eight Lancasters are lost. It was the town's first major raid of the war. The steelworks are not hit and bombs fell all over the town, destroying 126 houses and five industrial premises.

During the night of 12/13 December, 540 RAF Bomber Command aircraft, 349 Lancasters, 163 Halifaxes and 28 Mosquitos, are dispatched to bomb Essen; 529 bomb the city with the loss of six Lancasters. This is the last heavy night raid by Bomber Command on Essen. During the post-war interrogations of Albert Speer, the German Armaments Minister, he is asked which forms of attack are most effective in weakening the German war effort. After referring to the effectiveness of daylight raids and to some of the Oboe Mosquito attacks, Speer paid a compliment to the accuracy of this raid on Essen: "The last night attack upon the Krupp works, which was carried out by a large number of four-engined bombers, caused surprise on account of the accuracy of the bomb pattern. We assumed that this attack was the first large-scale operation based on Oboe or some other new navigational system." In another raid, 49 Mosquitos bomb Osnabruck.

Kommando Welter's leader, Oblt. Kurt Welter downs a RAF Lancaster bomber during the night flying his Me 262 jet.

GREECE: The Greek Communists ask for a cease fire.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army's British XIII Corps area, the Germans, counterattacking at dawn, temporarily force back the outpost of the Indian 19th Brigade on MT Cerere. The 6th Armoured Division begins the second phase of its offensive, during the night of 12/13 December, employing the 61st Brigade, which gets elements into Tossignano, where they come under heavy pressure.
In the British Eighth Army's Canadian I Corps area, the 5th Armoured and 1st Divisions advance from the Fosso Vecchio River to the Naviglio Canal, which runs from Faenza to the sea, and attack across it during the night of 12/13 December. The 1st Division gains a bridgehead north of Bagnacavallo, but the 5th Armoured Division is forced back to the Fosso Vecchio River.

 

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ARCTIC OCEAN: In the Norwegian Sea, German submarine U-365 is sunk about 247 nautical miles (457 kilometers) north-northwest of Bodø, Norway, in position 70.43N, 08.07E, by depth charges from two British Swordfish Mk. IIIs, aircraft "L" and "Q" of No. 813 Squadron in the British escort aircraft carrier HMS Campania (D 48); all 50 crewmen on the submarine are lost.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: In the Kattegat, the broad arm of the North Sea between Sweden and Denmark, ten RAF Bomber Command lay mines during the night of 13/14 December.

FRANCE: Nine French Gestapo members are sentenced to death in Paris today. They include Henri Lafont, aged 42, a former car salesman, who was in charge of the infamous Gestapo headquarters in the Rue Lauriston, and his associate, the former police inspector Pierre Bony, who won a reputation as a brilliant detective during the 1934 Stavisky affair. Their trial lasted for 12 days, and the court heard horrifying tales of torture, murder and extortion. There were originally 12 accused, but one died of diabetes during the trial and two are sentenced to life imprisonment.
The U.S. Third Army III Corps accepts the surrender of last of the Metz forts--Jeanne d'Arc. In the XII Corps area, the 35th Infantry Division strengthens its hold across the Blies River; the 1st Battalion, 134th Infantry Regiment, undergoes German counterattacks in Habkirchen, beginning early in morning, and is forced back toward the river; the 3d Battalion joins in the battle for Habkirchen; a battalion of the 320th Infantry Regiment crosses the Blies River at Bliesbruck and takes Hill 321; a small force from the 137th Infantry Regiment crosses north of Habkirchen but is pinned down.
In the U.S. Seventh Army's XV Corps area, the 44th Infantry Division begins a struggle for Fort Simershof, near Hottviller, which is barring the forward movement. In the VI Corps area, the 14th Armored Division attacks between the 103d and 79th Infantry Divisions, Combat Command A taking Soultz-sous- Forets. The 79th Infantry Division completes the capture of Seltz and overruns Niederroedern.

GERMANY: In the U.S. Ninth Army's XIX Corps, area, the 30th Infantry Division, in limited attacks, clears most of region between Inde and Roer Rivers.
In the U.S. First Army's VII Corps area, the 104th Infantry Division reaches the Roer River on a 4-mile (6,4 kilometer) front. The 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, finishes clearing Derichsweiler. This virtually ends the current mission of the corps. The V Corps opens an offensive for the Roer and Urft dams, employing the 78th Infantry Division (untried as yet in combat), 2d Infantry Division, and 99th Infantry Division. The 78th Infantry Division is held up near Kesternich. the 2d Infantry Division is slowed by obstacles and German fire in the center of corps. The 99th Infantry Division attacks in Monschau Forest and gains preliminary objectives.
The U.S. Third Army draws up plans for an air-ground assault on the West Wall. In the XX Corps area, the 90th Infantry Division prepares for an all-out effort to take the rest of Dillingen on 15 December, regrouping and building up supplies. The 95th Infantry Division makes very slight progress in the Saarlautern bridgehead, although elements of the 2d Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division, are committed with the 377th Infantry Regiment to guard the bridge.
Two hundred fifty USAAF Ninth Air Force A-20 Havocs, A-26 Invaders, and B-26s hit a supply dump at Schleiden, plus defended positions in several villages and marshalling yard at Euskirchen. Fighters escort the 9th Bombardment Division, fly night bombing missions, attack targets in the Cologne area, and support the XX Corps in the Dillengen-Saarlaute rn bridgehead area, and the XII Corps in the Habkirchen-Bliesbru ck area along the Blies River on France.

HUNGARY: Forward elements of the Red Army's Second Ukrainian Front thrust to within 6 miles (9,7 kilometers) northeast and 8 miles (13 kilometers) east of Budapest.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army's British XIII Corps area, the 61st Brigade of the 6th Armoured Division gets additional elements into Tossignano. The 36th Brigade of the 78th Division begins an attack for Parocchia di Mt. Maggiore, during the night of 13/14 December, but is unable to reach the top and withdraws at dawn.
In the British Eighth Army's Canadian I Corps area, the 1st Division maintains a bridgehead across the Naviglio Canal against severe German counterattacks.
Weather again hampers operations. USAAF Twelfth Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers attack mainly occupied areas and buildings in the battle area south of Bologna, communications throughout the central Po River Valley, and coastal defense and antiaircraft guns south of La Spezia.

NETHERLANDS: The British Second Army starts regrouping for an offensive to clear the region between the Maas and the Rhine Rivers. XXX Corps, which will at first be employed, turns over its sector and troops to XII Corps.
During the day, 13 RAF aircraft attack the German E-boat pens at Ijmuiden.

NORWAY: During the night of 13/14 December, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 52 Lancasters and seven Mosquitos to attack the German cruiser Koln berthed in Oslo Fjord but, when the bombers reach the fjord, the Koln has been moved to another location. Other ships are bombed by 47 aircraft instead but the results are not observed.

 

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ATLANTIC OCEAN: During the night of 14/15 December, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 30 Lancasters and nine Halifaxes on minelaying missions. Nineteen aircraft lay mines in the Kattegat, the broad arm of the North Sea between Sweden and Denmark, and 18 lay mines in the Laeso Rende Strait between the Danish mainline

FRANCE: In the U.S. Seventh Army's XV Corps area, elements of the 100th Infantry Division attacking Fort Schiesseck, near Bitche, are pinned down by German fire. In the VI Corps area, Lembach falls to the 45th Infantry Division. The 103d Infantry Division encounters strong rear-guard opposition at Climbach while the 79th Infantry Division column drives to the outskirts of Lauterbourg.

GERMANY: In the U.S. Ninth Army's XIX Corps area, the 30th Infantry Division troops finish clearing the region between the Inde and Roer Rivers.
In the U.S. First Army's VII Corps area, a factory between Mariaweiler and Dueren is cleared of German troops. The V Corps continues their offensive but makes little headway.
In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the 90th Infantry Division continues attack preparations. Vehicular ferry is put out of action by German fire. The 95th Infantry Division makes little progress in expanding the Saarlautern bridgehead. In the XII Corps area, the 35th Infantry Division continues the battle for Habkirchen, crossing the 2d Bn and Company K of the 134th Infantry Regiment over the river to join in the attack. A Bailey bridge is put across the river to the the village, during the night of 14/15 December. The 87th Infantry Division, which has been moving toward Rimling, takes that village, but resistance is stiffening.
Bad weather grounds the USAAF Ninth Air Force bombers but fighters fly armed reconnaissance, hit rail targets and bridges, and support the U.S. 2d and 99th Infantry Divisions in the Monschau Forest, the 8th Infantry Division in the Bergstein area, the 78th Infantry Division in the Simmerath-Resternic h area, and the XII and XX Corps around Habkirchen and Saarlautern.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army's British XIII Corps area, the 6th Armoured Division loses contact with elements within Tossignano and fighting for this objective ceases after futile efforts to take it.
In the British Eighth Army area, the Polish II Corps renews their offensive, during the night of 14/15 December, pushing forward to the left of the Corps and in conjunction with it. The Corps, after regrouping, jumps off, during the night of 14/15 December, with the Indian 10th Division on the left and the New Zealand 2d Division on the right, the Indian 10th Division attacking toward Pergola ridge and the New Zealand 2d Division in the Colic area, west of Faenza. In the Canadian I Corps area, the 5th Armoured Division forces the Naviglio Canal to the right of the 1st Division and establishes a bridgehead.
USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers score effective hits on railroad bridges at Parma and Chivasso. Fighters and fighter-bombers attack rail lines north of the immediate battle area and in the Po River Valley and hit guns and occupied areas on the U.S. Fifth Army front south of Bologna.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: In the Adriatic Sea, the British destroyer HMS Aldenham (L 22) is returning from bombarding a German-held island off Fiume, Yugoslavia, when she strikes a mine and sinks about 80 nautical miles (148 kilometers) south-southeast of Trieste, Italy, in position 44.30N, 14.45E; 121 crewmen are lost.

 

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ATLANTIC OCEAN: In the Kattegat (the arm of the North Sea between Denmark and Sweden) during the night of 15/16 December, six RAF Bomber Command Halifaxes lay mines in the Laeso Rende Strait between the Dannish mainland and the island of Laeso.

AUSTRIA: Over 330 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s hit numerous targets: 211 bomb two marshalling yards (M/Ys) at Linz, 131 hitting the Main M/Y and 80 attacking the Freight M/Y with the loss of one aircraft; 47 bomb the Main M/Y at Innsbruck with the loss of one bomber; and 31 aircraft bomb targets of opportunity. Two bombers are lost. Over 250 P-38s and P-51s

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: The Red Army troops cross the Ipely (Ipel) River north of Budapest, Hungary, and establishes a bridgehead on Czech soil at Sahy.
attacked at several points throughout the Netherlands East Indies.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, Combat Command A of the 14th Armored Division, seizes Riedseltz; Combat Command B takes Salmbach and Schlerthal. One 79th Infantry Division column clears Lauterbourg and another reaches the Lauter River at the village of Schiebenhardt.
The French First Army begins an offensive against the Germans west of the Rhine River in the Colmar area. The II Corps, making the main effort, penetrates to Orbey.

GERMANY: In the U.S. First Army area, V Corps continues to gain ground slowly. The 78th Infantry Division secures Kesternich but the Germans infiltrate in some strength and isolates elements.
In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the 90th Infantry Division opens an assault for the rest of Dillingen and the Prims River bridge on the Dillingen-Saarlaute rn road under a smoke screen with the 359th Infantry Regiment on the left and the 358th Infantry Regiment on the right; the attack penetrates the German main line of resistance in the Dillingen sector and gets well into the town. A lull develops after this and the 90th Infantry Division suspends the attack. The 95th Infantry Division continues a slow advance in the Saarlautern bridgehead. In the XII Corps area, the 134th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division, assisted by tanks and tank destroyers, takes Habkirchen; to the left, the 137th Infantry Regiment is driven out of Breiterwald with very heavy losses in a German counterattack. The 87th Infantry Division is also bitterly opposed but the 347th Infantry Regiment takes Obergailbach and the heights overlooking the Blies River.
The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 750: 674 B-17s and 434 fighters are dispatched to attack rail targets and a locomotive factory using H2X; one bomber and two fighters are lost: 328 bomb the Hainholz marshalling yard at Hannover with the loss of one B-17; 304 bomb the Henschel locomotive works at Kassel; and 23 bombers hit targets of opportunity.
Over 300 USAAF Ninth Air Force A-20 Havocs, A-26 Invaders, and B-26s hit defended positions, camp area, and oil storage at Heimbach, Wollseifen, Harperscheid, Schonau, Ruthen, and Dorsel; fighters escort the 9th Bombardment Division, hit supply and ammunition dumps and other targets during bombing attacks and armed reconnaissance, and support the U.S. 2d and 99th Infantry Divisions in the area of Westwall fortifications, the 78th Infantry Division at Kesternich, and the 8th Infantry and 5th Armored Divisions north of Kesternich. Fighters also support the XX and XII Corps in the Dillingen-Saarlaute rn area and at Habkirchen and heights along the Blies River.
The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force hits three marshalling yards (M/Ys): 56 bomb the Amstetten M/Y, 47 attack the Main M/Y at Rosenheim and 21 hit the Main M/Y at Salzburg.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 138 Lancasters to bomb Siegen but the are recalled because bad weather prevents their fighter escorts from taking off.
During the night 15/16 December, RAF Bomber Command sends 327 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos to attack Ludwigshafen; 319 bomb the target with the loss of one Lancaster. The target area for this raid is the northern part of Ludwigshafen and the small town of Oppau in which two important I.G. Farben chemical factories were situated. Severe damage is caused and fierce fires are started. The Oppau factory ceases production completely. Five other industrial firms are also badly hit. Some damage is also caused to housing areas around the various factories but this is not serious. Damage is also caused to installations and ships at the nearby Rhine quays. Mosquitoes also hit three other targets: 57 bomb Hannover, 11 hit Osnabruck and three attack the Bruckhausen benzine oil refinery at Duisburg.

ITALY: In the British Eighth Army area, the Polish II Corps pushes forward on l the eft flank of the army across the Sintria River toward the Senio River. In the British V Corps area, the Germans struggle to prevent the encirclement of Faenza, exerting strong pressure on New Zealand forces in the Colic area and bringing the Indian 10th Division to a halt short of Pergola during the day but withdrawing, during the night of 15/16 December. The Canadian I Corps joins and consolidates bridgeheads across the Naviglio Canal north of Faenza and spends the next few days improving the bridgehead.
USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25s, attack ammunition dumps at Cremona, Bologna, and Pavia, a fuel dump at Castellar Guidobono, and severely damage railway bridges south of Asti and at Voghera. Fighters and fighter-bombers again hit targets in the U.S. Fifth Army battle area south of Bologna and communications in the central Po River Valley and make numerous rail cuts throughout the area (especially on the vital Brenner Line) destroying many vehicles and train cars. Several bridges are hit, three being left impassable.

NETHERLANDS: During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 17 Lancasters to attack the E-boat pens at Ijmuiden with 12,000 pound (5 443 kilogram) "Tallboy" bombs but a smoke-screen hinders the bombing and no results are seen.

POLAND: During the night of 15/16 December, 13 RAF Bomber Command Lancasters lay mines in the Baltic Sea off Gdynia; one aircraft is lost.

UNITED KINGDOM: Major Alton Glenn Miller, s/n 0505273, Director of the USAAF band, aboard a Noorduyn UC-64A Norseman aircraft, disappears. Miller, age 40, Is en route from RAF Twinwood Farm, Bedfordshire, England, to Paris, France, to arrange a Christmas show for the troops in France. It Is raining and the temperature is 34 degrees F (1.1 degrees C) when the aircraft takes off with three people aboard, the pilot, Flight Officer Johnny Morgan, Miller and Lieutenant Colonel Norman F. Baesell who is flying to Paris in General Goodrich's private plane so that Baesell can pick up some champagne for the holidays. The UC-64A, a single engine, high-wing monoplane that could carry nine people, does not have deicing equipment. Although overage, and therefore draft exempt, Glenn Miller joined the Army in late 1942, was transferred to the USAAF, and went on to lead one of the greatest bands of the swing era.

UNITED STATES: USN Admiral William D. Leahy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), is promoted to the (five star) rank of Fleet Admiral.
The USAAF activates Headquarters, Continental Air Force (CAF) at Bolling Field, Washington, D.C., to coordinate the work of the four domestic air forces (First, Second, Third and Fourth) and the I Troop Carrier Command but will not assume jurisdiction until 8 May 1945. On 21 March 1946, CAF is redesignated Strategic Air Command (SAC).

WESTERN EUROPE: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 751: Two B-17s drop leaflets in France and Germany during the night.

YUGOSLAVIA: During the day, 33 RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group attack tactical targets near Klopat.

 

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WESTERN FRONT: The US 7th Army enters Germany, along the Palatinate frontier, from Alsace between Wissembourg and Lauterbourg. The French 1st Army is regrouping after its recent advance was countered by German forces.

Command designated Naval Forces Germany (Admiral Robert L. Ghormley) is established with headquarters at Rosneath, Scotland.

Major Alton Glenn Miller, s/n 0505273, Director of the USAAF band, boards a UC-64A for a flight to Paris. Miller's big band was one of the most popular prior to WWII; he enlisted in the AAF in 1942 and formed a band to entertain the troops in the ETO. Miller is on his way to Paris to make arrangements for a Christmas Show; he and the Flight Officer pilot takeoff, disappear in low cloud and are never seen again.

138 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group set out on a raid to Siegen but were recalled because bad weather prevented their fighter escorts from taking off.

17 RAF Lancasters of No 617 Squadron attacked the E-boat pens at Ijmuiden with Tallboys but a smoke-screen hindered the bombing and no results were seen. No aircraft lost.

GERMANY: (US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 750: 674 B-17s and 434 fighters are dispatched to attack rail targets and an armored car factory in Germany using H2X; 1 bomber and 2 fighters are lost: 1. 318 of 334 B-17s hit the marshalling yard and tank factories at Kassel; 5 others hit targets of opportunity; 6 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 11 damaged; 25 airmen are KIA and 1 WIA. Escorting are 268 of 296 P-51s; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 2. 327 of 340 B-17s bomb the marshalling yard at Hannover and 6 hit targets of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost and 7 damaged. Escorting are 241 P-47s and P-51s without loss. 3. 19 of 24 P-51s fly a scouting mission. Mission 751: 2 of 3 B-17s drop leaflets in France and Germany during the night.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 300+ A-20s, A-26s, and B-26s hit defended positions, camp area, and oil storage at Heimbach, Wollseifen, Harperscheid, Schonau, Ruthen, and Dorsel; fighters escort the 9th Bombardment Division, hit supply and ammunition dumps and other targets during bombing attacks and armed reconnaissance, and support the US 2d and 99th Infantry Divisions in the area of Westwall fortifications, the 78th Infantry Division at Kesternich, and the 8th Infantry and 5th Armored Divisions N of Kesternich; fighters support the XX and XII Corps in the Dillingen-Saarlautern area and at Habkirchen and heights along the Blies River.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): 330+ B-17s and B-24s attack main marshalling yards, main station, and freight yard at Linz, marshalling yards at Amstetten, Salzburg, and Innsbruck, Austria, and Rosenheim, Germany (all primary targets) and targets of opportunity including the Klagenfurt and Waldhausen marshalling yard and the town of Sankt Johann in Tirol, Austria; the Schwaz, Austria marshalling yard is also hit (due to malfunction of instruments). 250+ P-38s and P-51s provide escort

327 RAF Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 6 and 8 Groups despatached to Ludwigshafen. 1 Lancaster lost. The target area for this raid was the northern part of Ludwigshafen and the small town of Oppau in which two important IG Farben chemical factories were situated. Severe damage was caused and fierce fires were started. The Oppau factory ceased production completely.. 5 other industrial firms were also badly hit. Some damage was also caused to housing areas around the various factories but this was not serious. Damage was also caused to installations and ships at the nearby Rhine quays.

62 RAF Mosquitos to Hannover, 11 to Osnabrück and 3 to Duisburg, 31 RCM sorties, 38 Mosquito patrols, 15 Lancasters and 8 Halifaxes minelaying off north-eastern Denmark. 1 Lancaster minelayer lost.

MEDITERRANEAN: (US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, B-25s, attack ammunition dumps at Cremona, Bologna, and Pavia, a fuel dump at Castellar Guidobono, and severely damage railway bridges S of Asti and at Voghera; fighters and fighter-bombers again hit targets in the US Fifth Army battle area S of Bologna and communications in the C Po River Valley and make numerous rail cuts throughout the area (especially on the vital Brenner Line) destroying many vehicles and train cars; several bridges are hit, 3 being left impassable.

 

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WESTERN FRONT: The Battle of the Bulge begins. German forces of Heeresgruppe B (Model), under the overall command of Field Marshal Rundstedt, launch an offensive in the Ardennes Forest, between Monschau and Trier, aimed at recapturing Antwerp and splitting the British and American armies. The attacking force consists of the 6.SS Panzerarmee (Dietrich) on the right and 5.Panzerarmee (Manteuffel) on the left. On the right and left flanks are the German 15. and 7. Armees. Allied forces are taken by surprise. The initial assault targets the line held by US 5th and 7th Corps, parts of US 1st Army (Hodges), in the US 21st Army Group (Bradley) as part of the Allied Expeditionary Force (Eisenhower). A brief artillery barrage precedes that attack. On the first day, German forces successfully breach the American lines. English speaking German troops, wearing captured uniforms and using Allied equipment, infiltrate behind the American lines causing some confusion and uncertainty in the rear areas. Poor weather prevents Allied ground attack aircraft from operating against the German armored columns. Meanwhile, US 3rd Army continues operations along the Saar River until news of the German offensive is received.

(US Ninth Air Force): Bad weather cancels 9th Bombardment Division combat operations. In Germany, fighters escort RAF aircraft, fly night patrol and intercept missions, and support US First Army elements in the Ardennes in Belgium as Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt begins an allout counteroffensive, and the XII and XX Corps at Saarlautern the bridgehead and in Saint-Avold-Saarbrucken area where news of the Ardennes counteroffensive cancels the XII Corps plans for an assault on the Westwall. HQ IX Air Defense Command moves from Versailles to Paris, France.

MEDITERRANEAN: In Italy elements of British 5th Corps (part of British 8th Army) capture Faenza. General Clark take command of the 15th Army Group, General Truscott replaces him with the US 5th Army.

In Liberated Greece British General Scobie publishes the text of the Caserta agreement in which the communist guerrillas promised to work with the established government (in exile, at that time).

(US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, bad weather grounds medium bombers; XXII Tactical Air Command fighter-bombers hit occupied buildings and guns in the battle zone S of Bologna, continue attacks on the Brenner rail line effecting 16 rail cuts, hit and set aflame 3 vessels in La Spezia drydock, and blast several railroad bridges N of the battle area.

GERMANY: (US Eighth Air Force): Mission 752: 236 B-17s are dispatched to attack rail targets at Stuttgart, Germany but extremely poor weather conditions result in many aborts; primary targets are the marshalling yard at Stuttgart (81) and Bietingheim (33); 1 other B-17 hits a target of opportunity; 1 B-17s is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 9 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA and 9 MIA. Escorting are 106 of 114 P-51s without loss. 10 P-51s fly a scouting mission.

108 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group in a G-H raid on the railway yards at Siegen. 1 Lancaster lost. The bombing was accurate enough to hit Siegen and the neighbouring town of Weidenau but not to destroy the railway yards which were hit by only a few bombs. Many public buildings and houses were destroyed in Siegen, which had not been bombed seriously before.

1 RAF Mosquito attempted to bomb Wiesbaden but did not reach the target and 2 Wellingtons flew RCM sorties. No aircraft lost.

EASTERN FRONT: (US Fifteenth Air Force): Almost 600 B-24s and B-17s bomb a synthetic oil plant at Brux and armament works at Plzen, Czechoslovakia; a benzol plant at Linz and marshalling yards at Innsbruck and Villach, Austria; plus several scattered targets of opportunity; P-38s and P-51s escort operations to Czechoslovakia; other P-38s fly reconnaissance missions while P-51s fly reconnaissance escort.

 

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WESTERN FRONT: The German offensive in the West, after some deep penetrations into the lines of the unprepared US forces in the area, makes only slow progress due to limited roads as well as difficult terrain and weather conditions, not reaching any assigned first-day objectives. Eisenhower releases the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions from AEF reserve to reinforce American troops in the Ardennes. Other infantry and armored forces from US 12th Army Group are also being redeployed to meet the German offensive. Meanwhile, German forces capture 9000 Americans at Echternach, on the extreme right flank of the attack. Soldiers kill some 71 American POWs near Malmedy. The massacre was committed by troops of 1.SS Panzerdivision 'Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler', 'Kampfgruppe Peiper'.

French 1st Army captures Keintzheim.

(US Eighth Air Force): Mission 753: 3 B-17s and 7 B-24s are dispatched to drop leaflets on France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night. The 859th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 492d Bombardment Group (Heavy) is detached to Italy and begins a movement to Brindisi today.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, weather prevents bomber operations; 1,000+ fighters fly armed reconnaissance, defensive patrols, and attacks on bridges and gun positions; the IX and XIX Tactical Air Commands also support ground forces (8th, 28th, 78th, 99th, and 106th Infantry Divisions, 5th Armored Division, and V, VII, VIII, XII, and XX Corps) against the counteroffensive in the Ardennes and in a battle to hold the Saarlautern, Germany bridgehead.

(US Fifteenth Air Force):550+ B-17s and B-24s bomb oil refineries at Blechhammer N and S and Odertal, Germany, and Moravska-Ostrava, Czechoslovakia; marshalling yards at Gross Strehlitz, Germany, and Villach, Saak, Salzburg, and Wels, Austria. P-38s and P-51s escort the bombers, fly reconnaissance, strafe the railroad running from Rosenheim, Germany into Austria, and escort photo reconnaissance operations; enemy fighters appear in force for the first time since Aug 44; the AAF claims 55 air victories.

MEDITERRANEAN: In Italy The British 10th Indian Division (an element of British 8th Army), captures crossings over the Senio River, near Faenza.

(US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, bad weather again cancels medium bomber operations; the XXII Tactical Air Command hits communications in the Po River Valley and attacks the Trento marshalling yard on the rail line running N to the Brenner Pass.

ENGLAND: German submarine 'U-400' sunk with all hands off Cork. 'U-772' was sunk in the North Atlantic south of Cork, in position 51.16N, 08.05W, by depth charges from the British frigate HMS 'Nyasaland'. 48 dead (all hands lost).

GERMANY: Duisburg: 523 RAF aircraft - 418 Halifaxes, 8, Lancasters, 24 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 8 Halifaxes lost. Duisburg was badly hit again.

Ulm: 317 RAF Lancasters and 13 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups. 2 Lancasters lost. This was Bomber Command's first and only raid on Ulm, an old city but also the home of 2 large lorry factories - Magirius-Deutz and Kässbohrer - several other important industries and some military barracks and depots. 1,449 tons of bombs were dropped during the 25-minute raid, starting in the centre and then creeping back to the west, across the industrial and railway areas and out into the country. The Gallwitz Barracks and several military hospitals were among 14 Wehrmacht establishments destroyed.

Munich: 280 RAF Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of No 5 Group. 4 Lancasters lost. Bomber Command claimed 'severe and widespread damage' in the old centre of Munich and at railway targets.

44 RAF Mosquitos to Hanau (a 'spoof' raid), 26 to Münster and 5 to Hallendorf, 44 RCM sorties, 50 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.

 

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: In the West, Operation Wacht am Rhein begins to bog down in the face of stiffened US resistance and lack of adequate logistical support, notably fuel for the armored Kampfgruppen of Dietrich's and Manteuffel's armies.

German submarine 'U-1209' scuttled after running aground on the Scilly Isles after hitting Wolf Rock. 9 dead and 44 survivors.

In Belgium, the detachments of the 30th Photographic Reconnaissance and 107th and 109th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadrons, 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, operating from Florennes Juzaine and Chievres with F-5s and F-6s respectively, return to base at Gosselies; the 153d Liaison Squadron, IX Tactical Air Command (attached to Twelfth Army Group), based at Spa with L-5s, begins operating from Liege.

EASTERN FRONT: 236 RAF Lancasters of No 5 Group attacked the distant port of Gdynia on the Baltic coast and caused damage to shipping, installations and housing in the port area. 4 Lancasters lost. The nighttime attack sinks the Schleswig-Holstein and 8 other ships at Gotenhafen (Gdynia).

Soviet troops cross the Miscolc river.

MEDITERRANEAN: In Liberated Greece British troops begin an offensive against the rebellious Communist forces and capture on of the ELAS strong points on the Piraeus road.

(US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, weather again curtails operations; the XXII Tactical Air Command fighters and fighter-bombers hit communications in the E Po River Valley, scoring particular success against lines in the N part of the Valley in the Padua region, and support US Fifth Army operations in the battle area S of Bologna.

GERMANY: (US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 754: 985 bombers and 773 fighters are dispatched to hit communication and tactical targets in Germany using PFF; 4 fighters are lost: 1. Extensive cloud formations force the recall of 358 B-24s without loss. Escorting are 103 of 110 P-51s. 2. 385 B-17s are sent to hit the Kalk marshalling yard at Cologne (32); secondary targets hit are the Lutzel marshalling yard at Koblenz (102) and Kaiserslautern (74) marshalling yard; 11 hit Bonn, a last resort target; 1 B-17 is damaged. The escort is 110 of 116 P-51s; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA). 3. 157 of 220 B-17s hit the marshalling yard at Mainz; 13 others hit targets of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost and 2 damaged beyond repair; 1 airman is MIA. Escort is provided by 150 of 162 P-51s without loss. 4. 22 of 22 B-17s fly a screening mission. 5. 255 P-47s and P-51s fly a fighter sweep in W Germany; they claim 3-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are lost (pilots MIA). 6. 29 of 31 P-51s fly a scouting mission. Mission 755: 4 B-17s and 9 B-24s are sent to drop leaflets in France, Germany and the Netherlands during the night.

(US Ninth Air Force): 160+ A-26s, A-20s, and B-26s hit defended positions at Harperscheid, Hellenthal, Blumenthal, Dreiborn, and Herhahn; fighters fly sweeps and armed reconnaissance over W Germany (claiming 40+ enemy airplanes downed plus hitting numerous ground targets) and support the US 2d, 4th, 28th, and 106th Infantry Divisions W of Butgenbach and W of Trier; SE of Clervaux, Luxembourg; and SE of Saint-Vith, Belgium; and the XII Corps at Niedergailbach; the IX Tactical Air Command hits Panzer units spearheading the Bulge.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): 560+ B-17s and B-24s hit oil refineries at Blechhammer N and S and Odertal, Germany; Floridsdorf refinery at Vienna, Austria; Moravska-Ostrava, Czechoslovakia; and Auschwitz, Poland; marshalling yards at Graz and Studenzen, Austria, and Sopron, Hungary; the Bruck an der Mur, Austria industrial area, and various scattered targets of opportunity; fighters fly escort and reconnaissance missions.

40 RAF Mosquitos to Nuremberg and 16 to Münster, 34 RCM sorties, 11 Mosquito patrols, 14 Lancasters of No 5 Group minelaying in Danzig Bay. 1 Mosquito Intruder lost.

 

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: German columns reach Bastogne. Meanwhile, forces of the German 6.SS Panzerarmee reach Stavelot in the north while elements of 5.Panzerarmee approach Houffalize. Some US forces between these advance continue to defend positions around Gouvy and St. Vith.

At a meeting of senior Allied commanders, Eisenhower decides to appoint Field Marshal Montgomery, commanding British 21st Army Group, to lead all Allied forces to the north of " the Bulge" in the line created by the German attack. General Bradley, commanding US 12th Army Group, is responsible for all Allied forces to the south. The arrangement is not made public at this time.

German submarine 'U-737' sunk after colliding with a German minesweeper in Westfjord.

(US Ninth Air Force): All administrative sections and extra operational equipment of the XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional) are moved from Maastricht, the Netherlands to Saint-Trond, Belgium to avert transportation problems should the XXIX Tactical Air Command be subsequently forced into a hasty withdrawal. Weather grounds the bombers. Fighters fly armed reconnaissance in W Germany, escort RAF Lancasters, fly patrols from Belgium to the Rhine River, support the US 1st, 2d, 99th, and 106th Infantry Divisions, and 7th Armored Division (N and E of Malmedy and SE and SW of Saint-Vith, Belgium), and fly cover for US Twelfth Army troops and the XII Corps near Verdun and Saint- Avold, France. In Belgium, the 153d Liaison Squadron moves from Spa to Olne (the squadron is operating from Liege with L-5s).

12 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group minelaying in the Kadet Channel off Denmark without loss.

GERMANY: (US Eighth Air Force): Mission 756: 328 bombers and 45 fighters are dispatched to hit tactical targets (rail and road junctions, rail and road chokepoints and railheads) in the Luxembourg and Ehrang and Koblenz, Germany area to impede the German counteroffensive launched in the Ardennes on 16 Dec using PFF: 1. 144 of 172 B-17s hit 6 tactical targets and 24 hit the secondary target, the Koblenz marshalling yard without loss. 2. 62 of 156 B-24s hit 2 tactical targets and 82 hit the secondary target, the Ehrang marshalling yard; 2 B-24s are damaged beyond repair; 11 airmen are KIA. 3. The missions above are escorted by 37 of 41 P-47s; they claim 7-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 P-47s are damaged beyond repair; 1 pilot is WIA.

(US Fifteenth Air Force):400+ B-24s and B-17s attack Blechhammer N and S, Germany and Moravska-Ostrava, Czechoslovakia oil refineries; Rosenheim, Germany rail sidings and marshalling yard; marshalling yards at Strasshof, Villach, Klagenfurt, Graz, and Innsbruck, Austria, and Sopron, Hungary; the town of Sternberk, Czechoslovakia; and several scattered targets of opportunity; P-38s and P-51s fly reconnaissance missions and escort the bombers.

32 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group carried out a G-H raid on the railway yards in Trier behind the front on which the Germans were attacking in the Ardennes. No Lancasters lost.

EASTERN FRONT: In Czechoslovakia, Soviet troops are closing in on the Slovakian railroad junction of Kosice.

A Soviet state commission investigating German atrocities in Lithuania reports that more than 300,000 civilians and about 165,000 prisoners of war were killed in the area.

MEDITERRANEAN: (US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, weather grounds the medium bombers; XXII Tactical Air Command fighters and fighter-bombers, unable to reach the primary targets further N, hit communications N of the battle area but concentrate mainly on gun positions in the La Spezia area.

 

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: In their torturous advance toward the Meuse river, armored units of 6.SS Panzerarmee capture Stavelot, searching for Allied fuel dumps to replenish their near- exhausted supplies of gasoline. Forces of 6.SS Panzerarmee strike northward from around Stavelot but encounter heavy resistance from Allied defenders of British 21st Army Group. The 5.Panzerarmee continues to advance to the south against forces of US 12th Army Group, but American defenders of the road junctions of St. Vith and Bastogne continue to hold their positions. Allied sources allege that in the area of Monschau the Germans have been shooting American prisoners with machineguns. Meanwhile, the US 3rd Army reports attacking from the Saarlautern bridgehead and having cleared 40 pillboxes and fortified houses. First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): In France, HQ 371st Fighter Group and the 404th and 406th Fighter Squadrons move from Tavaux Airfield, Dole to Tantonville with P-47s. Ninth Air Force: Bad weather prevents all combat operations, except a night intruder mission by 2 fighters.

EASTERN FRONT: In Hungary, the 6th Guards Army reaches the River Hron. Soviet forces report capturing about 1000 prisoners in the offensive in Hungary. Miskolcz is reported captured as is the railway junction of Rima-Szecs.

MEDITERRANEAN: In Liberated Greece British General Scobie issues a warning to civilians to stay out of areas occupied by ELAS forces because they may be subjected to bombing raids. British tanks and armored cars have lifted the siege of Kifissia RAF base by ELAS troops.

(US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, continued bad weather limits operations; medium bombers are grounded and overcast prevents fighters and fighter-bombers to reach many targets in the C and E Po Valley however, the Brenner rail line is cut S of Trento and trains are successfully attacked near Padua and Treviso; armed reconnaissance in the W Po Valley accounts for several locomotives, vehicles, and other targets of opportunity, and railroads, bridges, and targets of opportunity are hit in the La Spezia and Genoa areas; during the night of 19/20 Dec, A-20s attack lights at 5 locations in the E Po Valley.

The 859th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 492d Bombardment Group (Heavy), arrives at Brindisi, Italy from Harrington, England with B-24s and C-47s; the squadron is detached to the 15th Special Group (Provisional) and will fly CARPETBAGGER missions in the MTO beginning 31 Dec.

GERMANY: (US Fifteenth Air Force): For the fifth consecutive day, bombers hit Axis oil production; 454 B-17s and B-24s hit the Regensburg, Germany oil refinery, marshalling yards at Linz, Salzburg, and Villach, Austria, and armament works at Plzen, Czechoslovakia; 300+ P-38s and P-51s provide escort; 40+ others fly reconnaissance and reconnaissance-escort missions.

 

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: In the north, US forces recapture Stavelot and bring the advance of the German 67. Korps (part of 6.SS Panzerarmee), on the right flank of the German attack, to a halt from here to Monschau. To the south, the German 5. Panzerarmee has nearly surrounded Bastogne while Houffalize has been secured.

First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): In France, the 405th Fighter Squadron, 371st Fighter Group, moves from Tavaux Airfield in Dole to Tantonville with P-47s (the air echelon is operating from Dijon). Ninth Air Force: Operational control of the IX and XXIX Tactical Air Commands is transferred from the Ninth AF to the RAF Second Tactical AF to operate against the N line of the Bulge. The XIX Tactical Air Command flies armed weather and intruder reconnaissance in the Saarbrucken-Trier, Germany area. Weather grounds all operations.

113 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group again attempted to bomb the railway yards at Trier in 2 waves. No Lancasters lost. The bomber crews were unable to observe results because of the cloud, although a large column of smoke eventually appeared.

207 RAF Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of No 5 Group attacked the synthetic-oil refinery at Politz, near Stettin. 3 Lancasters were lost and 5 more crashed in England. Post-raid reconnaissance showed that the power-station chimneys had collapsed and that other parts of the plant were damaged.

136 RAF aircraft - 67 Lancasters, 54 Halifaxes, 15 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups attacked the important Cologne/Nippes marshalling yards which were being used to serve the German offensive in the Ardennes. No aircraft lost. The target was cloud-covered and only a few bombs hit the railway yards but these caused the destruction of 40 wagons, a repair workshop and several railway lines.

97 RAF Lancasters and 17 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups attempted to attack railway areas in Bonn but thick cloud cover prevented an accurate raid and later reconnaissance showed that the railway target was not hit. No other details are available. No aircraft lost.

4 RAF Lancasters of No 5 Group to Schneidmühl as a diversion for the Politz raid, 15 RCM sorties, 12 Mosquito patrols, 30 Lancasters and 23 Halifaxes minelaying in the Kattegat. No aircraft lost.

NORWAY: A German convoy runs into a minefield laid by Free French submarine 'Rubis'. This submarine has now sunk a total of 23 ships.

GERMANY: (US Fifteenth Air Force):84 B-24s bomb the main marshalling yard and railroad sidings at Rosenheim, Germany; 40 P-51s provide escort; 40+ P-38s fly photo reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort missions.

MEDITERRANEAN: (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 20/21 Dec, A-20s attack highways, secondary roads, and targets of opportunity in the N and C Po Valley. During the day, bad weather grounds the medium bombers and reduces fighter and fighter-bomber operations of the XXII Tactical Air Command however, aircraft are effective against railroad targets in the Treviso area and damage Ghedi Airfield; trains, vehicles, guns, and buildings are attacked in or near Mantua, Milan, Turin, La Spezia, Padua, and Mestre.

 

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: In the advance of German 5.Panzerarmee, Bastogne is surrounded. St. Vith is captured late in the day. However, the lack of substantial progress leads Model, commanding Heeresegruppe B, and Rundstedt, Commander in Chief West, to recommend an end to the offensive. American forces in Bastogne, Belgium, are told by a German commanding officer to surrender or be annihilated. CO of the 102nd, Brigadier General McAuliffe, answers with the single word;

"Nuts!"

This succinct specimen of American slang has to be interpreted to General von Lüttwitz, CO of 47.Panzerkorps, as a negative reply.

In France, the 404th Fighter Squadron, 371st Fighter Group, ceases operating from Dijon with P-47s and returns to base at Tantonville. Ninth Air Force: 3 fighter groups of the IX Tactical Air Command are transferred to the XIX Tactical Air Command to concentrate air power for cooperation with the US Third Army to which the main effort against the Bulge has been assigned; the groups return to control of the IX Tactical Air Command on 25 Dec. Fighters fly a few strafing, weather reconnaissance, intruder patrol, and alert missions; bad weather cancels all other missions. In Belgium, the 153d Liaison Squadron, IX Tactical Air Command (attached to Twelfth Army Group), moves from Olne to Tongres (air echelon operating from Liege with L-5s).

GERMANY: Guderian, Chief of the General Staff of the German Army, recommends that the Ardennes offensive be called off.

Koblenz; 166 RAF Lancasters and 2 Mosquitos, mostly from No 1 Group but with some Pathfinders. No aircraft lost. The aiming point was the Mosel railway yards. There was some cloud in the target area and the local report says that the main weight of the attack fell in farming areas between 2 and 4 kilometres to the west where the villages of Güls and Rübenach were badly hit. But the fringes of the bombing fell on the railway yards, several main lines and 2 important road bridges.

Bingen; 106 RAF aircraft - 90 Halifaxes of No 4 Group and 14 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitos of No 8 Group. 2 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster lost. The railway yards were again the objective of the raid. The attack was extremely accurate and all the bombs fell into the yards or into the nearby Rhine, where 2 barges were sunk. All movement of supplies by rail through Bingen to the Ardennes battle front ceased.

44 RAF aircraft of No 100 Group flew RCM sorties and Mosquito patrols (the figure cannot be broken down). No aircraft lost.

During test flights of the He 162 'Salamander' by Dipl. Ing Franke, it is found that the Volksjäger has very poor flight characteristics. The aircraft is redesigned to solve these instabilities.

EASTERN FRONT: A Soviet sponsored provisional government of Hungary is established at Drebrecan.

Hptm. Heinrich Sturm, a 157-victory ace of 5./JG 52, is killed in Hungary.

MEDITERRANEAN: (US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 21/22 Dec, A-20s hit scattered targets in the Po Valley; clearing weather during the day enables medium bombers to hit bridges at Torre Beretti, Pontetidone, and at Chiari; fighter-bombers concentrate on railway targets, destroying 5 bridges in N Italy and making numerous cuts in rail lines, several on the important Brenner Pass line; motor transport and guns N of the battle area are also successfully attacked.

 

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: Although the American defenders of Bastogne continue to hold out against German attacks, elements of the German 5.Panzerarmee have by-passed the town and are advancing to the west and northwest. These attacks have reached beyond Rochefort and Laroche. However, improved weather conditions allows Allied ground attack aircraft to harass the German columns. A sudden improvement in the weather permits Allied fighter-bombers to conduct about 900 sorties against German forces in "the Bulge". With clear skies returning, Allied fighters and bombers begin attacks on German ground forces. American C47 transport planes begin dropping supplies in Bastogne.

(US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 757: 423 bombers and 636 fighters are dispatched to hit marshalling yards, communication centers and a rail junction in the rear of the battle area; 75-150 Luftwaffe aircraft are encountered and the AAF claims 75-5-23; 7 fighter are lost: 1. 148 of 153 B-17s hit the marshalling yard at Ehrang; 45 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 1 WIA. Escorting are 54 of 62 P-51s; they claim 20-0-3 aircraft without loss. 2. 113 B-24s are sent to bomb communication centers at Ahrweiler (48 ), Junkerath (31) and Dahlem (27); 74 B-24s are damaged; 3 airmen are WIA. Escort is provided by 243 of 254 P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 3. 152 B-17s are dispatched to hit marshalling yards at Homburg (58 ) and Kaiserslautern (40) and the rail junction at Homburg; 6 others hit targets of opportunity; they claim 6-4-5 aircraft; 77 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 7 MIA. Escorting are 112 of 117 P-51s; they claim 2-0-0 aircraft without loss. 4. 6 of 6 B-17s fly a screening mission. 5. 163 P-47s and P-51s fly a fighter sweep of the Bonn, Germany area; they claim 46-1-15 aircraft; 3 P-47s and 3 P-51s are lost (all pilots MIA). 6. 20 P-51s fly a scouting mission without loss. Mission 758: 5 B-17s and 7 B-24s are dispatched to drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night; only 10 aircraft drop leaflets.

The 374th, 375th and 376th Fighter Squadrons, 361st Fighter Group, based at Little Walden, England with P-51s, begin operating from St Dizier, France; the 486th and 487th Fighter Squadrons, 352d Fighter Group, based at Bodney, England, begin operating from Asch, Belgium with P-51s.

The 405th Fighter Squadron, 371st Fighter Group, ceases operating from Dijon, France with P-47s and returns to base at Tantonville. In Belgium, the L-5s of the 153d Liaison Squadron, IX Tactical Air Command (attached to Twelfth Army Group), cease operating from Liege and return to base at Tongres; the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group, based at Le Culot begins operating from Conflans, France with F-6s and P-51s.

Some 26 German V2 missiles explode in Antwerp.

153 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group attempted to attack the Trier railway yards through cloud. The bombing appeared to be accurate and concentrated but Trier could only report that it was the town's worst raid of the war. 1 Lancaster lost.

MEDITERRANEAN: (US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 22/23 Dec, A-20s on intruder patrols hit Po River crossings and targets of opportunity; bad weather during the day grounds the medium bombers; fighter- bombers operate in the W Po Valley, mainly against railway communications; an airfield near Milan is attacked, and several enemy airplanes destroyed.

GERMANY: 27 RAF Lancasters and 3 Mosquitos of No 8 Group to attack the Gremberg railway yards, Cologne. The raid went very badly. The force was split into 3 formations, each led by an Oboe-equipped Lancaster with an Oboe Mosquito as reserve leader. During the outward flight, 2 Lancasters of No 35 Squadron collided over the French coast and their crews were all killed. On approaching the target, it was found that the cloud which had been forecast had cleared and it was decided to allow the bombers to break formation and bomb visually; this move was made because the formations would have been very vulnerable to Cologne's flak defences during the long, straight Oboe approach. Unfortunately the order to abandon the Oboe run did not reach the leading Lancaster, a No 582 Squadron aircraft piloted by Squadron Leader RAM Palmer, DFC (on loan from No 109 Squadron), who continued on with his designated role, even though his aircraft was already damaged by flak. German fighters, who were being directed to intercept an American bomber force, also appeared and attacked. The bombs from Squadron Leader Palmer's aircraft were eventually released and hit the target but his plane went down out of control and only the tail gunner escaped, by parachute. Squadron Leader Palmer, on his 110th operation, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross, the only Oboe VC of the war. The formation suffered further losses when another Lancaster and a Mosquito were shot down by flak and fighters and a further Lancaster had to be abandoned by its crew over Belgium. The losses were thus 6 aircraft out of the 30 dispatched.

52 RAF Mosquitos to Limburg railway yards, 40 to Siegburg and 7 on 'training flights' to Bremen, Hannover, Münster and Osnabrück, 62 aircraft of No 100 Group on RCM and Mosquito operations, 6 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft were lost. Each of the Mosquitos shown as being on 'training flights' visited all 4 targets and dropped 1 bomb on each; these operations later became known as 'siren-sounding tours'.

Jet fighters of III./JG 7 are scrambled from Lager-Lechfeld to intercept a reconnaissance P-38 Lightning from 7th PRG and its escorting P-51D Mustangs from USAAF 353rd FG. Obfw. Erich Buttner and Fw. Böckel each claim a P-51 over Magdeburg but it is more likely that the P-38 lost on this mission by the Allies is misidentified as a Mustang by the Experten.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, around 500 B-26s and A-20s attack rail bridges, communications targets, villages, a rail junction and targets of opportunity losing 31 bombers; fighters fly bomber escort, armed reconnaissance, and patrols (claiming 100+ aircraft downed and 3 airfields bombed), and support ground forces between Werbomont, Belgium and Butgenbach, Germany along the N battleline of Bulge and the US III, VIII, and XII Corps forces along the S battleline of the Bulge.

EASTERN FRONT: The Soviet 4th Guards and 46th Armies are approaching the western outskirts of Budapest, after halting a counter attack by the 8.Panzerdivision.

 

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: The German Ardennes offensive is exhausted by the end of the day. The furthest advance has been achieved by elements of the German 5.Panzerarmee The 2.Panzerdivision has reached the outskirts of Dinant with the 116.Panzerdivision on the right flank near Hotten and the Panzer Lehr Division on the left flank to the west of St. Hubert. American forces in Bastogne continue to resist; some 260 Allied transports drop supplies to the defenders. Allied fighter-bombers fly over 600 sorties in the Ardennes. German General Manteuffel's force gets to within four miles of the Meuse River in France, the furthest reach of the German assault. German General Joachim Peiper's battle group in France begins a retreat on foot.

(US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 759: 10 of 12 B-24s hit the La Pallice coastal battery in France without loss. Mission 760: A high pressure front across W Europe brings clear weather and the Eighth AF launches a maximum effort against airfields and communications in W Germany; this was the largest air strike of WWII; 2,034 bombers and 853 fighters are dispatched; they claim 92-6-21 Luftwaffe aircraft; 12 bombers and 10 fighters are lost: 1. 858 B-17s are dispatched to hit airfields at Darmstadt (189), Frankfurt- Rheine (143), Bilbis (100), Babenhausen (96), Zellhausen (85) and Gross Ostheim (60); secondary targets hit are marshalling yards at Pforzheim (37) and Kaiserslautern (24) and Haildraum (60); 26 targets of opportunity are hit by 37 B-17s; they claim 18-5-1 aircraft; 8 B-17s are lost, 11 damaged beyond repair and 337 damaged; 15 airmen are KIA, 21 WIA and 76 MIA. Escorting are 343 of 358 P-51s; they claim 53-0-6 aircraft; 7 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 2. 542 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Merzhausen air depot (198 ) and airfields at Giessen (74), Kirchgons (54), Nidda (53) and Ettinghausen (43); secondary targets hit are Koblenz (42), Darmstadt (7), Kaiserslautern (5) and Babenhausen (4); 20 B-17s hit a target of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost, 9 damaged beyond repair and 109 damaged; 21 airmen are KIA, 23 WIA and 18 MIA. Escort is provided by 350 of 368 P-51s; they claim 13-1-13 aircraft; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 3. 634 B-24s are dispatched to hit Euskirchen (62), Wittlich (62), Gerolstein (59), Mayen (59), Ahrweiller (54), Bitburg (35), Eller (32), Pfazel (28 ), Ruwer (27), Schonecken (26), Rheinbach (25), Daun (24), Wetteldorf (18 ), and Cochem (11); 75 others hit 18 targets of opportunity; 2 B-24s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 150 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 5 WIA and 20 MIA. Escorting are 87 of 92 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 4-0-0 aircraft without loss. 4. 24 of 24 P-51s fly a scouting mission; they claim 3-0-1 aircraft without loss. 5. 9 of 11 P-51s escort 9 Spitfires and 8 F-5s on a photo reconnaissance mission over Germany; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft without loss.

(US Ninth Air Force): 276 B-26s and A-20s hit rail bridges and communications centers in W Germany; fighters escort the 9th Bombardment Division, fly armed reconnaissance, and support the US III, VIII, and XII Corps along the S battleline of the Bulge, stretching from Echternach, Luxembourg to the area NW of Neufchateau, Belgium as the 4th Armored Division reaches the enemy's ring around Bastogne. The 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group, based at Le Culot, Belgium with F-6s and P-51s, begins operating from Conflans, France.

Another Sturmbock pilot is lost when Hptm. Wolfgang Kosse, Staffelkapitän of 13./JG 3 is reported missing after combat with Allied four-engined bombers near Liege.

Lt. Georg Keil of 9./JG 11 is awarded the Deutsche Kreuz im Gold for his thirty-six aerial victories, illustrating how difficult it was now to achieve the Ritterkruez – awarded only a few years earlier for twenty kills – at this time.

NORTH AMERICA: Off Halifax harbor, Canada, German submarine 'U-806' torpedoes and sinks Canadian minesweeper 'Clayoquot'.

ENGLAND: On the only attack against a target other than London by the air launched V-1 flying bomb – codenamed Operation 'MARTHA' - fifty Heinkels of the renamed III./KG 3 (KG 53) mount a raid on Manchester, England. The Heinkels fire the bombs from launching sights over the North Sea and thirty flying bombs make it to the English coast. Only eleven bombs make it anywhere near Manchester with only one actually landing on the city, killing thirty-seven people and injuring sixty-seven others. One Heinkel is shot down by an RAF night fighter. The result of this mission is that the British redeploy anti-aircraft guns from the south of England creating a continuous cover of fire as far north as Yorkshire. Only 1 bomb hits the target area, 17 fall nearby. A total of 37 people are killed and 67 are injured.

In the English Channel German 'U-486' sinks the transport SS 'Leopoldville'. The 'Leopoldville' (Master Charles Limbor) in convoy WEP-3 was hit by one of two torpedoes from' U-486' about five miles off Cherbourg and sank over the stern at 20.40 hours. The ship carried 2235 officers and ratings of the US 66th Infantry Division and a crew of 139 men. The master, 55 crew members and 763 soldiers were lost. All news and information on this incident is suppressed by orders of SHAEF headquarters.

EASTERN FRONT: In Hungary, Soviet forces are engaged on the outskirts of Budapest while other forces advancing past the city have almost cut it off. Soviet tanks penetrate the outskirts of the Budapest. There is a 25 mile wide corridor to the west.

MEDITERRANEAN: Canadian troops capture Rosetta, on the Senio River.

(US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, weather again holds operations to a minimum however, P-47s carry out very successful raid on Thiene Airfield, causing considerable damage and destroying several enemy airplanes; other missions find little activity and result in the destruction of only a few trucks and trains.

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

104 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group carried out an accurate attack on Hangelar airfield near Bonn. 1 Lancaster lost. No results are known.

Cologne/Nippes: 97 RAF Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups. 5 Lancasters were lost and 2 more crashed in England. The Oboe marking and the resultant bombing were extremely accurate. The railway tracks were severely damaged and an ammunition train blown up. The nearby Butzweilerhof airfield was also damaged.

2 RAF Mosquitos to Münster, 42 RCM sorties, 42 Mosquito patrols, 12 Halifaxes of No 6 Group minelaying off Oslo, 8 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.

Oblt. Klaus Bretschneider, Staffelkapitän of 5./JG 300, a former "Wilde Sau" night-fighting Gruppe flying the FW 190 Sturmbock, is shot down and killed in combat with P-51s over Kassel. Oblt. Bretschneider had thirty-one victories including seventeen by day with three victories against four-engined bombers and fourteen victories as a "Wilde Sau" pilot in twenty sorties.