27 December 1944

WESTERN EUROPE: Medium and light bombers of the USAAF Ninth Air Force's 9th Bombardment Division attack rail bridges, communications centers, and targets of opportunity in Belgium and Germany; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, and support the U.S. 3d Armored and 82d Airborne Divisions in the Manhay and Trois-Ponts area of Belgium, and the III, VIII, and XII Corps in the Saint-Hubert-Bastogne-Martelange area of Belgium.

BELGIUM: The British XXX Corps advances into Celles and the German 2nd Panzer Division withdraws. This German division is far to the front of the other German divisions and will suffer from the Allied counterattacks.
The 3rd Royal Tank Regiment at Celles and the 23rd Hussars approximately five kilometres due south. Both of the 29th Armoured Brigade. RAF Typhoons had worked the area on 25 December and presented the Germans with rockets as Christmas gifts. (Jay Stone)

For the sake of tight security, the only German Army officers briefed on "Operation Nordwind" were Division commanders and Operations Officers. German units were ordered to conduct minimum normal patrols and radio silence was imposed.

The plan adopted by Hitler called for two attacks with neither named as "the main attack" and no provision for armored exploitation. Both factors were contrary to German military doctrine. (Joe Brott)

Just outside Savy, Belgium, Jay Stone was in a Jeep driving around a steeply banked turn. He was on the lower part of the banked turn when a tank was entering on the high side. The tank began to slide toward the jeep and he thought "this is a hell of a way to go", but either the tank got control or the jeep got out of there. (William Jay Stone)

In the U.S. First Army's XVIII Corps (Airborne) area, the 30th Infantry Division maintains defensive positions while regrouping. The 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division, continues a drive northeast of Bra. The 7th Armored Division recaptures Manhay early in the day. The 9th Armored Division is reinforced by Regimental Combat Team 112 of the 28th Infantry Division. In the VII Corps area, the Germans are infiltrating toward Sadzot in the zone of Combat Command A, 3d Armored Division, where the front line is held by Regimental Combat Team 289. The 84th Infantry Division clears a pocket in the Verdenne area. Columns of the 2d Armored Division envelop Humain and clear stubborn resistance there. The 83d Infantry Division, upon closing in the Havelange area, begins relief of the 2d Armored Division.

In the U.S. Third Army's VIII Corps area, the 17th Airborne Division takes over the Meuse River sector. In the III Corps area, trucks and ambulances roll into Bastogne on a road opened by Combat Command R, 4th Armored Division, ending the siege of the city. The 4th Armored Division and reinforcements from the 9th Armored and 80th Infantry Divisions are broadening the corridor to Bastogne and attempting to open the Arlon-Bastogne highway.

Twelve USAAF Eighth Air Force bombers attack communications centers at St. Vith during Mission 764.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Seventh Army area, units report very quiet in their areas. (Joe "Old Joe" Brott)

In the U.S. Seventh Army area, XXI Corps (36th Infantry and 12th Armored Divisions) arrives. VI Corps is reinforced by Task Force Harris (63d Infantry Division), Task Force Herren (70th Infantry Division), and Task Force Linden (42d Infantry Division).

LUXEMBOURG: In the U.S. Third Armyâ€™s III Corps area, From the south bank of the Sauer River, the 35th Infantry Division attacks northward between the 4th Armored and 26th Infantry Divisions, the 137th Infantry Regiment taking Surre and the 320th Infantry Regiment, Boulaide and Boschleiden. The 26th Infantry Division pushes northward through the 101st Airborne Infantry Division, clearing Mecher-Dunkrodt and Kaundorf. In the XII Corps area, the 80th Infantry Division checks an attack in the Ringel area and blocks roads north and northeast of Ettelbruck. The 6th Armored Division takes responsibility for the sector south of the Sauer River between Ettelbruck and Mostroff. Beaufort, north of Waldbillig, falls to the 11th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division. 4th Infantry Division patrols find Echternach undefended. In the XX Corps area, the 90th Infantry Division patrols aggressively and conducts raids to keep the Germans pinned down. The 5th Ranger Battalion is attached to 95th Infantry Division.

GERMANY: Briefings for Operation NORDWIND begin. [Operation Nordwind (North Wind) is an attack conducted by the Germans during January 1945 in Alsace and Lorraine, France.] For the sake of tight security, the only German Army officers briefed are division commanders and operations officers. German units are ordered to conduct minimum normal patrols and radio silence is imposed. The plan adopted by Chancellor Adolf Hitler calls for two attacks with neither named as "the main attack" and no provision for armored exploitation. Both factors are contrary to German military doctrine. (Joe "Old Joe" Brott)

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 764: freezing fog at bases in the U.K. restrict operations but 641 bombers and 390 fighters are dispatched against rail targets in western Germany in support of the battlefront in the Bulge; two bombers are lost. The targets are (numbers in parenthesis indicate number of aircraft bombing and number lost, e.g., 97-1):

- Marshalling yards: Fulda (113-0), Euskirchen (73-0), Andernach (63-0), Gerolstein (58-0), Neuenkirchen (57-0), Homburg (45-0), Kaiserslautern (33-0), Lutzel M/Y at Koblenz (14-1), St. Wendel (9-0) and Bonn (1-0).

- Railroad bridges: Bullay (34-0), Altenahr (25-0), Kaiserslautern (15-1) and Neuweid (8-0).

Twenty two other aircraft bomb targets of opportunity. Fighter aircraft are also engaged: 163 P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs fly a fighter sweep and engage about 200 Luftwaffe fighters; they claim 29.5-1-9 aircraft; two P-51s are lost.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 200 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos to attack the marshalling yards at Rheydt; 191 bomb the target. One Lancaster is lost and a Mosquito crashes behind the Allied lines in the Netherlands.

During the night of 27/28 December, the USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 765, a night leaflet mission over Germany.

During the night of 27/28 December, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 328 aircraft, 227 Halifaxes, 66 Lancasters and 35 Mosquitos, to bomb railroad shops at Opladen; 313 bomb the target with the loss of two Lancasters. Nine of the Mosquitos bombed 3.5 hours before the main raid. The aiming point for the attack is the marshalling yards but results are not known. Mosquitos are also active: 12 bomb Munster, seven bomb Frankfurt-am-Main and six bomb Hannover without loss.

HUNGARY: Budapest is completely encircled as elements of the Second Ukrainian Front clear an island in the Danube River north of the city and establish contact with the Third Ukrainian forces. Fighting is in progress in the eastern and western suburbs.

AUSTRIA: The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force dispatches over 520 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators to attack various targets. The targets are (numbers in parenthesis indicate number of aircraft bombing and number lost, e.g., 97-1):

- Marshalling yards: Main M/Y at Linz (128-1), Klagenfurt (58-0), Main M/Y at Graz (53-1), South M/Y at Villach (18-0), Bruck (16-1) and Wiener Neustadt (7-1) and North M/Y at Villach (5-0).

Twenty nine P-51 Mustangs strafe railroad targets between Vienna and Linz while other fighters fly over 250 escort sorties.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army area, the first echelon of the 10th Mountain Division arrives. In the IV Corps area, the Germans force a further withdrawal of the 92d Infantry Division, but elements of Indian 8th Division pass through the 92d and make patrol contact with the Germans.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers blast three Brenner area routes leading into Austria and Yugoslavia, and bomb two supply dumps in the Bologna area. Fighter-bombers devote their main effort to support the U.S. Fifth Army in the Serchio Valley area where counterattacks are being successfully halted; other fighter-bombers hit communications in the Po Valley and escort medium bombers and C-47s dropping supplies to Italian partisans. During the night of 27/28 December, A-20 Havocs bomb lights and motor transport at almost 50 places throughout the Po Valley and Brenner area.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators attack railroad targets: 76 bomb the railroad viaduct at Venzone, 22 bomb a rail line in the Brenner Pass with the loss of one bomber, 17 bomb a railroad bridge at Bressanone and 13 hit a railroad bridge at Vipiteno. Forty four P-38 Lightnings bomb bridges at Latisana and Casarsa della Delizia.

During the day, 30 RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the Susegana railroad bridge at Piave. During the night, two bombers drop leaflets over northern Italy.

YUGOSLAVIA: Sixty five USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the Main marshalling yard at Maribor.

During the day, nine RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group drop supplies to partisans.

CHINA: Six USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb the area west of Kengtung while two B-25s and eight P-40s hit the Ishan area. Fighters are also active: 29 P-40s and P-51 Mustangs attack the area south of Puchi and 17 P-51s over White Cloud, Whampoa, and Tien Ho Airfields in Canton, claim ten airplanes destroyed with the loss of two P-51s.

BURMA: In the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) area, the U.S. 124th Cavalry Regiment (Special), upon completing its march to Momauk, begins reorganizing for combat.

In the British Fourteenth Army area, the XV Corps commander recommends that operations against Akyab be advanced to 3 January 1945.

Eight USAAF Tenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack bridges at Kin and Kyaukhlebein, damaging the former while 28 P-47 Thunderbolts hit troop and supply areas at Se-hai, Man Hkam, Mong Yok, and Mong Nge. Four B-25 Mitchells continue offensive reconnaissance against communications lines during the night of 27/28 December.

USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s and P-51 Mustangs hit targets of opportunity at or near Lungan, Mong Long, and Namtao.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s and P-51 Mustangs hit targets of opportunity at or near Vinh, Yen, and Mong Khong and Kweiyi, China.

JAPAN: The USAAF Twentieth Air Force's XXI Bomber Command flies Mission 16: 72 B-29 Superfortresses from the Mariana Islands are sent to bomb the Nakajima and Musashino aircraft plants in Tokyo; 39 hit the primary targets and 13 attack alternates and targets of opportunity. Japanese fighters are active, flying over 250 individual attacks and B-29 gunners claim 21-10-7 fighters. Three B-29s are lost, one to fighters and two to mechanical difficulties.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: In the U.S. Eighth Army's X Corps area on Leyte Island, Companies F and G, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, sail from Gigantangan Island. to Taglawigan, on the northwestern coast of Leyte Peninsula, and land without opposition, taking Taglawigan. They then proceed by sea and overland to Daha, which is also secured. Company G, reinforced, moves south by sea to the San Isidro area and goes ashore. The 1st Battalion, meanwhile, ordered to take San Isidro, moves overland from Calumbian to the heights overlooking the town. In the XXIV Corps area, the 3d Battalion, 305th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division, takes the heights 600 yards (549 meters) ahead as it continues west along the Palompon road against tenacious resistance. The 2d Battalion is to move forward by water. The 1st Battalion, 305th Infantry Regiment, remains in the Palompon area, patrolling and awaiting the rest of regiment.

USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators bomb San Jose and Talisay Airfields on Negros Island and Matina Airfield on Mindanao Island.

EAST INDIES: Small miscellaneous strikes are carried out by the USAAF Far East Air Forces over Borneo, Celebes Islands, and the Lesser Sunda Islands.

BONIN AND VOLCANO ISLANDS: Forty eight Mariana Island based USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, while 21 more bomb Chichi Jima, Bonin Islands. P-38 Lightnings strafe the Iwo Jima airfields on which two B-24 Liberators also make snooper strikes during the night of 27/28 December.

USN Task Group 94.9, the heavy cruisers USS Chester (CA-27), Pensacola (CA-24) and Salt Lake City (CA-25) and seven destroyers, follows up the USAAF strikes with a bombardment of Japanese installations on Iwo Jima and shipping offshore. Destroyer USS Dunlap (DD-384) is damaged by shore battery, but not before she teams with USS Fanning (DD-385) and Cummings (DD-365) to sink a fast transport and a landing ship.

Destroyer USS Willard Keith commissioned.

Destroyer escort USS Vandivier launched.

Heavy cruisers USS Norfolk nd Scranton laid down.

Destroyer USS James E Kyes laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Frigate HMCS Sea Cliff and corvettes HMCS Edmunston and St Thomas sank U-877 NW of Azores, 46-25N 36-38W while escorting convoy HX-327. U-877, a IXC/40 Type U-Boat built by Deutsche Schill und machinenbau, AG, Weser, Bremen, Launched 10 Dec 43, commissioned 24 Mar 44, in service 9 months, with no record of sinking any ships. One authority indicates U-877 was a IXC/42 type U-boat, however, Deutsche Schiff und Machinenbau AG, Weser, Bremen, never completed any of that type of U-boat. U-877's, primary assigned task was as a weather reporting U-boat from the area west of Ireland, however, her wireless was faulty nd in view of the radio problems headed for North America. On 27 Dec radar warning set gave the alarm and U-877 crash-dived. Edmunston made initial Asdic contact that she soon abandoned as doubtful. St Thomas, coming up astern, obtained the contact and immediately fired one bomb from her squid mortar to 'keep his head down' St Thomas lined up and made a deliberate attack with one more Squid bomb, which exploded directly over U-877's stern. Water poured into the U-boat causing her to sink to nearly 1,200 feet before ballast was blown nd she surfaced. Both St Thomas and Sea Cliff, who had joined to help, opened fire, but there was little fight left in U-877. By the time the two escorts closed, all the U-boat's crew were safely in their life rafts. The number rescued were 5 officers, 4 senior rates, nd 46 junior rates.