This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Timeline of World War II" 1944 – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

This is atimeline of events that occurred during 1944 inWorld War II.

January 1944

1st

15th

3: Major GregoryPappy Boyington, the USMC fighter ace, was shot down after downing the last 3 of his 26 victories, and would spend the next 20 months in Japanese POW Camps.

4: The1st Ukrainian Front of the Red Army enters Poland.

9: British forces takeMaungdaw, Burma, a critical port for Allied supplies.

11:Count Ciano, the Italian Foreign Minister and Mussolini's son-in-law, is executed by Mussolini's revived Fascist government sympathizers.

12: TheSSUnited Victory, the firstVictory ship, is launched; this class of transport will prove to be crucial in hauling men and supplies across the oceans.^[1]

16: GeneralDwight D. Eisenhower arrived in London, returning from a week of rest and planning in Washington, D. C., and assumed command of the European Theater by General Orders No. 4. His new title was Commanding General, U.S. Forces,European Theater of Operations.

17: The firstBattle of Monte Cassino begins when the BritishX Corps attacks along theGarigliano river at the western end of the GermanGustav Line.^[2][3][4]

19: Red Army troops push westward toward the Baltic countries.
: BritishOperation Outward accidentally claims lives inSweden by knocking out lighting and causing a train crash.

20: TheRoyal Air Force drops 2,300 tons of bombs onBerlin.
: TheU.S. Army 36th Infantry Division, in Italy, attempts to cross theGari River but suffers heavy losses.

22:Allies beginOperation Shingle, the landing atAnzio, Italy, commanded by American Major GeneralJohn P. Lucas.^[2][3][5] The Allies hope to break the stalemate in south Italy, but they are unable to break out of the beachhead and the line holds until late May. The minesweeperUSS Portent (AM-106), commanded by Lt. H.C. Plummer, hit a mine and sank southeast of Anzio, Italy.

23: The British destroyerHMS Janus is sunk off Anzio.^[2]

24: The Allied forces have a major setback on theGari River in Italy.

24: InGerman-occupied Belgium, theSocial Pact, detailing plans for post-war social reform, is secretly signed.

27: TheSiege of Leningrad ended after 872 days, as Soviet forces finally forced the Germans to withdraw. Some 2 million died, mostly of starvation and disease.

28: The Soviet Army completes encirclement of two German Army corps at theKorsun pocket, south of Kiev. Two-thirds of the Germans escape in the breakout next month with the loss of most heavy equipment.

30: The Japanese kill 44 suspected spies in theHomfreyganj massacre.
: At Anzio, Italy the disastrousBattle of Cisterna took place, as MG John P. Lucas sent Darby's Rangers to begin the breakout from the beachhead. One of the four battalions in the action returned with only 6 of 767 men, the rest killed, wounded or captured.
: TheBrazzaville Conference begins inFrench Equatorial Africa. During the conference (which lasts until 8 February), theFrench Committee of National Liberation (CFLN) agrees to major reforms to theFrench colonial empire.
: U.S. Navy shelling and carrier bombing began in theMarshall Islands, preliminary to invasions the following day.

31:Operation Flintlock began, as American forces land onKwajalein Atoll and other islands in theJapanese-heldMarshall Islands.United States troops also invadeMajuro, Marshall Islands.

February 1944

1st

15th

1: U.S. Marines mop up onRoi and Namur in the northern part of the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands.

2:The Narva front near theeast border of Estoniais formed between the Soviet and German forces.
: Germans defeat American troops in theBattle of Cisterna near Anzio.^[2]

3: American planes bombEniwetok in the Marshalls, later to be a majorB-29 base.

4:Kwajalein, the world's largest atoll and a major Japanese naval base, is secured.

5: The American Navy bombards theKuril Islands, northernmost in the Japanese homelands.

7: In a radio interview, the last Estonian Prime MinisterJüri Uluots, as acting Head of State, supports mobilisation.

8: The plan for the invasion of France,Operation Overlord, is confirmed.

10:Winston Churchill urgesHarold Alexander to order the Anzio generals to show more aggression.^[2]

11: In the battle of Korsun–Cherkassy, German forces sent to relieve the Korsun pocket in Ukraine are now only 10 miles away.^[2]

14: The Russian 374th Rifle Regiment forms a bridgehead on the western shore ofLake Peipus. The Mereküla Landing Operation of the special unit of the Soviet Baltic Sea Fleet in the rear of the Germans at theNarva front at Mereküla is resisted.
: The underground organisation, theNational Committee of the Republic of Estonia, is formed in Tallinn.
:Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) headquarters are established in Britain by U.S. GeneralDwight D. Eisenhower.

15: The second Battle of Monte Cassino begins with the destruction of the historicBenedictine monastery onMonte Cassino by Allied bombing. The Allies believed the grounds were used as an observation post by the Germans.^[2][3][6]
: The Soviet bridgehead on the west coast of Lake Peipus is annihilated.
: Soviet Leningrad Front initiates theNarva Offensive, February 15–28.^[7]

16: Germans launch a major counter-attack at Anzio, threatening the American beachhead.^[2]
: Germans, with Panzer forces leading, fail to break out of the Korsun pocket.
: Diplomats from the USSR andFinland meet to sign an armistice.

17: American Marinesland on Eniwetok.

18: The light cruiserHMS Penelope is torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Anzio with a loss of 415 crew.^[3]
: American naval air raid takes place on theTruk islands, a major Japanese naval base, but they will be one of the bypassed fortresses of the Japanese outer defence ring.

19:Leipzig, Germany is bombed for two straight nights. This marks the beginning of a "Big Week" bombing campaign against German industrial cities by Allied bombers.

20:A colonial military garrison inLuluabourg in theBelgian Congo mutinies, killing three.

22:John P. Lucas is replaced as commander of the U.S.VI Corps by Major GeneralLucian Truscott at Anzio.^[2]

23: US Navy planes attack theMariana Islands ofSaipan,Guam andTinian.

26: The "Big Week" bombing campaign comes to a successful conclusion; the AmericanP-51 Mustang fighter with its long range proves invaluable in protecting American bombers over Germany.
: Red Air Force continues to bombHelsinki, as Finland continues peace talks.

27:USS Cod sinks a Japanese merchant ship by torpedo.^[2]

28: Belgian industrialistAlexandre Galopin is assassinated in occupiedBelgium by Flemish paramilitaries.

29: TheAdmiralty Islands areinvaded by U.S. forces, marked by the Battle of Los Negros and Operation Brewer. The struggle for this important fleet anchorage will continue until May.Rabaul is now completely isolated.

March 1944

1st

15th

1: The keels ofUSS Tarawa andUSS Kearsarge are laid down.
: Anti-fasciststrikes occur in northernItaly.
: Leningrad Front initiate theNarva Offensive, March 1–4.
: The Alliesbomb theVatican for the 2nd time

3: German forces around Anzio, having failed to drive the Allies from the beachhead, go over to a defensive posture.^[2][8]

4: Winston Churchill told the House of Commons the Allies intended to completely isolate Ireland to prevent military secrets from leaking to the Axis, hinting the border with Northern Ireland would soon be closed. 30 Royal Air Force planes were sent to attackDüsseldorf overnight.

6: Wingate's Chindits make several successful forays in Burma.
: The Soviet Air Force bombs Narva, the city is destroyed. The Leningrad Front initiates theNarva Offensive, March 6–24.^[7]
: The Alliesreceive intelligence that the Japanese may be about to attackWestern Australia, causing them to greatly bolster defenses there. When no attack comes, forces return to their regular stations on the 20th.

7: Japanese begin an invasion attempt on India, starting a four-month battle aroundImphal.

8: American forces are attacked by Japanese troops on Hill 700 inBougainville; the battle will last five days.
: A Red Army offensive on a wide front west of theDnieper in Ukraine forces the Germans into a major retreat.

9: The SovietLong Range Aviation carries out anair raid onTallinn, Estonia. The military targets are almost untouched. Approx. 800 civilians die and 20,000 people are left without shelter.^[9]

10: The creation of thePolitical Committee of National Liberation inGreece.

13: OnBougainville,Japanese troops end their failed assault onAmerican forces at Hill 700.

15: The third Battle of Monte Cassino begins. The small town ofCassino is destroyed by Allied bombers.^[2][3][10]
: Americans take Manus Island in the Admiralty chain.
: The National Council of theFrench Resistance approves theResistance programme.

16:United StatesXI Corps arrives in Pacific Theater.

17: Heavy bombing of Vienna, Austria.

18: The Red Army approaches the Romanian border.

19: German forces occupyHungary inOperation Margarethe.^[2][3]
: Yugoslav partisans attack Trieste, on the border of Italy and Slovenia.

20: Red Army advances in Ukraine continue with great success.

21: Finland rejects Soviet peace terms.

22: Japanese forces cross the Indian border all along the Imphal front.
: Frankfurt is bombed with heavy civilian losses.

24: TheFosse Ardeatine massacre in Rome, Italy. 335 Italians are killed, including 75 Jews and over 200 members of various groups in theItalian Resistance; this is a German response to a bomb blast that killed German troops.
:Orde Wingate is killed in a plane crash.
: Heavy bombings of German cities at various strategic locations last for 24 hours.

25: Soviet air force bombs the city ofTartu, Estonia.^[11]

26: On Narva front,Strachwitz Offensive destroys part of the Soviet bridgehead.^[12]

28: Japanese troops are in retreat in Burma.

30: RAF suffers grievous losses in a huge air raid on Nuremberg.

April 1944

1st

15th

3: Allied bombers hitBudapest in Hungary, now occupied by the Germans, andBucharest in Romania, ahead of the advancing Red Army.

4: GeneralCharles de Gaulle takes command of all Free French forces.

5: US Air Force bombs Ploiești oil fields in Romania, with heavy losses.

6: The Japanese drive on the Plain ofImphal, supposedly halted, proves strong enough to surround British forces at Imphal andKohima, in India.

8: The Red Army attacks in an attempt to retake all of the Crimea, the Germans retreat westward to Sevastopol.

10: Soviet forces enterOdessa, Ukraine.^[2][3]

11: Soviet forces takeKerch, beginning the reconquest ofCrimea.^[2][3]

15: Heavy air raids on Ploiești oil fields (Romania) by both the RAF and the US Air Force.

16: Soviet forces takeYalta; most of Crimea has been liberated.^[2][3]

17: Japanese launchOperation Ichi-Go with over 600,000 men in central China. The objective is to conquer areas where American bombers are located.^[3] The first phase is theBattle of Central Henan.

21: The Badoglio government in Italy falls and he is quickly asked to form another.
: An Allied air raid on Paris kills a large number of civilians.

22:Operations Reckless andPersecution: US troops land atHollandia andAitape in northernNew Guinea to cut off Japanese forces inWewak.^[2][3]

24: British troops force open the road fromImphal toKohima inIndia.

25: LTG George Patton suffered yet another controversy setback, when giving a speech at the welcome Center in Knutsford, England. He opined that "the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union" were destined to rule the post-war world. A reporter's story the next day left out Soviet Union, and the Kremlin was offended; Patton was reprimanded by Eisenhower.

27: TheSlapton Sands tragedy: hundreds of American soldiers and sailors are killed over two days in a training exercise in preparation for D-Day atSlapton in Devon.

30: Vast preparations for D-Day are going on all over southern England.
: American navy air raids continue in theCaroline Islands, includingTruk.

May 1944

1st

15th

6: Heavy Allied bombings of the Continent in preparation for D-Day.

8:D-Day for Operation Overlord set for 5 June.

9:Sevastopol in the Crimea is retaken by Soviet forces.^[2]

11: The fourth battle of Monte Cassino begins led by general Anders of the 2nd Polish Corps.^[2][3][13]

12: Large numbers of Chinese troops invade northern Burma.

13: The entirety of Crimea is under Soviet control. Many thousands of German and Romanian soldiers have been captured, but many thousands have been evacuated.^[2][3][14]
: The bridgehead over theGari River is reinforced.

15: More than 130 Allied political leaders and military officers, including King George VI, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, GEN Dwight D. Eisenhower, LTG George S. Patton, GEN Bernard L. Montgomery, and LTG John C. H. Lee met for the final joint briefing for D-Day at St. Paul's School in Hammersmith, west of London, England.

18: The Battle of Monte Cassino ends in Allied victory. Polish troops of the 2nd Polish Corps led by general Władysław Anders capture Monte Cassino. German troops in west Italy have withdrawn to theHitler Line.^[2][3]
: Allied troops take airfields atMyitkyina, Burma, an important air base; the struggle over the city itself will continue for nearly three months.
: The last Japanese resistance in the Admiralty Islands, off New Guinea comes to an end.

21: Increased Allied bombing of targets in France in preparation for D-Day.

23: Allies start a new breakout from Anzio.^[2][3]

25: Allies at Anzio link up with Allies from south Italy. Though Harold Alexander wishes to trap theGerman Tenth Army, AmericanFifth Army commanderMark W. Clark orders Truscott to turn north toward Rome. The Germans in Italy form a new defensive position on theCaesar C line.

^[2][3][15]

27:Operation Horlicks starts, as Americans land onBiak, Dutch New Guinea, a key Japanese air base; stubborn Japanese resistance until August.

31: The Japanese retreat from Imphal (India) with heavy losses; their invasion of India is over.

June 1944

1st

15th

2: The U.S. beginsOperation Frantic with a bombing ofDebrecen, Hungary.^[2][3]

3: There are daily bombings of the Cherbourg peninsula and the Normandy area.
: The provisionalFrench government is established

4: Allies enterRome, one day after the Germans declared it anopen city. German troops fall back to theTrasimene Line.^[2][3]
:Operation Overlord is postponed 24 hours due to high seas. GermanU-505 is captured by US forces, and towed to Bermuda.

5:Operation Overlord commences when more than 1,000British bombers drop 5,000 tons of bombs onGerman gun batteries on theNormandy coast in preparation forD-Day.
: The first Allied troops land in Normandy; paratroopers are scattered from Caen southward.
: In the Pacific, the U.S. fleet transporting the expeditionary forces for the invasion of Saipan in the Mariana Islands leaves Pearl Harbor.

6:D-Day begins with the landing of 155,000Allied troops on the beaches ofNormandy inFrance. The Allied soldiers quickly break through theAtlantic Wall and push inland in the largest amphibious military operation in history.

7:Bayeux is liberated by British troops.

9: No agreement having been reached on their mutual borders, Soviet forces launch an offensive againstFinland with the intent of defeating Finland before pushing forBerlin.

10: AtOradour-sur-Glane (a town near Limoges),France, 642 men, women, and childrenare massacred in a German response to local Resistance activities.
: In theDistomo massacre in Greece, 218 civilians are killed.

12: American aircraft carriers commence air strikes on theMarianas, includingSaipan, preparing for invasion.

13:Germany launches aV1 Flying Bomb attack onEngland, in Hitler's view a kind of revenge for the invasion. He believes in Germany's victory with this "secret weapon". The V-1 attacks will continue through October, when the last launch site is taken by Allied forces.
: The U.S. Naval bombardment of Saipan begins. In response, Admiral Toyoda Soemu, commander-in-chief of theImperial Japanese Navy, orders his fleet to attack U.S. Navy forces around Saipan.

15: U.S. Marine and Army forces invade the island ofSaipan. U.S. submarines sight the Japanese fleet en route.

17: Free French troops land onElba.

18:Elba is declared liberated.
: Allies captureAssisi, Italy.

19-20: TheBattle of the Philippine Sea, nicknamed the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot by Americans, takes place. TheUnited States Fifth Fleet wins a decisive naval battle over the Imperial Japanese Navy near the Mariana Islands. Over 200 Japanese planes are shot down while the Americans only lose 29 to enemy action.^{[2][3][16][17]}

19: A severe Channel storm destroys one of the Allies'Mulberry harbours in Normandy.
: The Red Army prepares for "Operation Bagration", a huge offensive in Byelorussia (White Russia).

20: The British takePerugia, Italy.
: The Siege ofImphal is lifted after three months.

21: Allied offensive in Burma.

22: V-1s continue to hit England, especially London, sometimes with horrifying losses.
:Operation Bagration: General attack bySoviet forces to clear theGerman forces fromBelarus This results in the destruction of the GermanArmy Group Centre, possibly the greatest defeat of the Wehrmacht during World War II.
: In theBurma Campaign, theBattle of Kohima ends with a British victory.

23: TheNational Committee of the Republic of Estonia makes a declaration "to the Estonian People." The declaration was made public to the world press in Stockholm in July 1944 and in Tallinn on 1 August 1944.

25: TheBattle of Tali-Ihantala between Finnish and Soviet troops begins. Largest battle ever to be fought in theNordic countries.

26:Cherbourg is liberated by American troops.

27:San Marino isbombed by the Allies, under the belief that Axis forces had been stationed there

July 1944

1st

15th

1: TheLeningrad diaristTanya Savicheva dies of starvation at the age of 14. Her diary of her family's death during the siege becomes famous.

2: V-1s continue to have devastating effects in South-East England in terms of material destruction and losses of life.

3:Minsk inBelarus is liberated by Soviet forces.
: The Allies find themselves in the "battle of thehedgerows", as they are stymied by the agricultural hedges in Western France which intelligence had not properly evaluated. Various impromptu devices and inventions, often made out of cut-up German "hedgehog" shore-defense devices and mounted to Allied tanks, are designed and made to successfully deal with the matter.
: Siena, Italy falls toAlgerian troops of the French forces.

6: LargestBanzai charge of the war: 4,300 Japanese troops are slaughtered on Saipan.

7: Soviet troops enter Vilnius, Lithuania.

9: After heavy resistanceCaen, France, is liberated by the British troops on the left flank of the Allied advance.
: Saipan is declared secure, the Japanese having lost over 30,000 troops; in the last stages numerous civilians commit suicide with the encouragement of Japanese military.

10: Japanese are still resisting onNew Guinea.
: Tokyo is bombed for the first time since the Doolittle raid of April 1942.

11:President Roosevelt announces that he will run for an unprecedented fourth term as U.S. President.

12: Hitler rejects General Field MarshalWalther Model's proposal to withdraw the German forces from Estonia and northern Latvia and retreat to theDaugava River.

13: The Soviets take Vilnius, Lithuania.
: TheLvov-Sandomierz Offensive begins.

16: First troops of theBrazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB) arrive in Italy.

17: Field Marshal Rommel is badly wounded when his car is strafed from the air in France.

18: General Hideki Tojo resigns as chief minister of the Japanese government as the defeats of the Japanese military forces continue to mount.Emperor Hirohito asks GeneralKuniaki Koiso to form a new government.
:Saint-Lô, France is taken, and the Allied breakout from hedgerow country in Normandy begins.

19: American forces take Leghorn (Livorno), Italy far up the Italian boot.

20: TheJuly 20 Plot is carried out by Col.Claus von Stauffenberg in a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler. Hitler was visiting headquarters atRastenburg,East Prussia. Reprisals follow against the plotters and their families, and even include Rommel.

21: US Marines land on Guam.

22: Hitler gives permission to retreat from theNarva River to the Tannenberg defence line in theSinimäed Hills 20 km west from Narva.

23: The Poles rise up against the Germans in theLwow Uprising.

24: Marines land onTinian Island, last of the Marianas (after Saipan and Guam); Tinian will eventually be aB-29 base, and thebase from which the atomic bombers departed.
:Operation Cobra is now in full swing: the breakout at St. Lô in Normandy with American troops takingCoutances.
: At the start of the SovietNarva Offensive, July 24–30, the Soviet8th Army is beaten by theEstonian 45th Regiment and East Prussian 44th Regiment. The army detachment "Narwa" begins to retreat to theTannenberg line.^[11]
:Majdanek concentration camp is liberated by Soviet forces, the first among many. The Soviet Union is now in control of several large cities in Poland, including Lublin.
: US bombers mistakenly bomb American troops near St. Lô, France.

26: The first aerial victory for ajet fighter occurs, with anMe 262 of theLuftwaffe'sEkdo 262 damaging ade Havilland Mosquito reconnaissance aircraft of the Royal Air Force'sNo. 540 Squadron RAF.
: The Leningrad Front's Narva Offensive captures the town.^[11]

27 July to 10 August: Battles on the Tannenberg Line. At the start of the battles there are 25 Estonian and 24 Dutch, Danish and Flemish infantry battalions on the German side at the Narva Front. The artillery forces, and the tank, engineer and other special units are composed mainly of Germans. The attack by the Soviet Armed Forces is stopped, tens of thousands of men are killed on both sides.

28: The Red Army takeBrest-Litovsk.
: The first operational use of theMe 163BKomet rocket fighter occurs by units ofJG 400 in defense ofthe Leuna synthetic fuel facilities, the Third Reich's largest synthetic fuels complex.

29: A decisive day in theBattle of Narva, allowing the German army detachment "Narwa", includingEstonian conscript formations to delay the SovietBaltic Offensive for another one and a half months.^[11]

August 1944

1st

15th

1: TheWarsaw Uprising, staged by thePolish Home Army, begins: the Polish people rise up, expecting aid from the approaching Soviet Union armies, but it never comes.
: The Red Army isolates the Baltic States from East Prussia by takingKaunas.
: The Americans complete the capture of the island ofTinian.

3: Allied U.S. and Chinese troops under Stilwell overcome a vigorous Japanese defense and takeMyitkyina, in northern Burma.

4:Florence is liberated by the Allies, particularly British and South African troops. Before exiting, the Germans under GeneralAlbert Kesselring destroy some historic bridges and historically valuable buildings.
:Rennes, France, is liberated by American forces.

5:Wola massacre: 40-50 thousand civilians murdered by German andcollaborating Russian forces in theWola district ofWarsaw.
:TheCowra breakout: Japanese POWs escape from an Australian prison nearCowra,New South Wales. Two guards are killed and posthumously awarded the George Cross.

6: Germans round up young men inKraków to stop the potentialKraków Uprising (1944).
: Ukrainian insurgents kill 42 Polish civilians in theBaligród massacre.

7: First trials of the bomb conspirators against Hitler begin in a court presided over by notorious JudgeRoland Freisler.

8: Plotters in the bomb plot against Hitler are hanged and their bodies hung on meat hooks. Reprisals against their families continue.

9: President Roosevelt chooses GeneralDouglas MacArthur's plan to invade thePhilippines and turns down AdmiralChester W. Nimitz's plan to invadeTaiwan.^[2]

10:Guam is liberated by American troops; all of the Marianas are now in American hands. They will be turned into a major air and naval centre against the Japanese homeland.
:USAAF bombersattack Palembang in the Dutch East Indies

14: The failure of the Allies to close theFalaise pocket in France proves advantageous to the Germans fleeing to the east who escape the pincer movement of the Allies.
: A clash between Italian POWs and American servicemen ends in theFort Lawton Riot

15:Operation Dragoon begins, marked by amphibiousAllied landings insouthern France.
: The Allies reach the "Gothic Line", the last German strategic position in North Italy.

18: Following the assassination of a collaborationist politician in Belgium by theresistance, 20 civiliansare massacred in Courcelles by paramilitaries in retaliation.
: The Red Army reaches the East Prussian border.

19: TheFrench Resistance begins an uprising in Paris, partly inspired by the Allied approach to the Seine River.
: In a radio broadcast, Jüri Uluots, the acting Head of State of Estonia, calls the Estonian conscripts to hold the Soviet Armed Forces back until a peace treaty with Germany is signed.

20: The Red Army relaunches its offensive into Romania.
:168 Allied airmen arrive atBuchenwald concentration camp.

21: TheDumbarton Oaks Conference begins, setting up the basic structure of the United Nations.

22: The Japanese are now in total retreat from India.
: German Chancellor Adolf Hitler issued the first of several orders to the German commander of Paris, General Dietrich von Choltitz, to destroy the city.

23:Romania breaks with the Axis, surrenders to the Soviet Union, and joins the Allies.

25:Paris is liberated; De Gaulle makes a triumphant speech at the Hotel de la Ville, which is also broadcast nationwide. The German military under Lt. Gen. von Choltitz disobeys Hitler's orders to burn the city and destroy all bridges over the Seine. Meanwhile, the southern Allied forces move up from the Riviera, takeGrenoble andAvignon.

26: De Gaulle and the Free French parade triumphantly down theChamps-Élysées under some sniper fire.

28: The Germans surrender atToulon andMarseille in southern France.
: Patton's tanks cross theMarne.

29: The anti-GermanSlovak National Uprising starts inSlovakia.

30: The Allies enterRouen, in northwestern France.

31: American forces turn over the government of France to Free French troops.
: The Soviet army entersBucharest.

September 1944

1st

15th

1: Canadian troops captureDieppe, France.

2: Allied troops enter Belgium.

3:Brussels is liberated by theBritish Second Army.
:Lyon is liberated by French and American troops.

4: A cease fire takes effect between Finland and the USSR.^[2][3][18]
:Operation Outward ends.

5:Antwerp is liberated by British 11th Armoured Division and local resistance.
: The uprising in Warsaw continues.
:United StatesIII Corps arrives in European Theater.
: TheBelgian,Dutch andLuxembourgish governments in exile sign theLondon Customs Convention, laying the foundations for theBenelux economic union.

6: The "blackout" is diminished to a "dim-out" as threat of invasion and further bombing seems an unlikely possibility.
:Ghent andLiège are liberated by British troops.

8:Ostend is liberated by Canadian troops.
: Soviet troops enterBulgaria.^[3]
: TheBelgian government in exile returns to Belgium from London where it has spent the war.
: The first successful operational use of the GermanV-2 rocket took place: two were launched at London, and one at Paris. A woman was killed by one that fell on the Chiswick area of London.

9:Charles de Gaulle forms theProvisional Government of the French Republic in France.
: TheFatherland Front of Bulgaria overthrows the national government and declares war on Germany.^[2]

10:Luxembourg is liberated by U.S. First Army.
: Two Allied forces meet atDijon, cutting France in half.
: First Allied troops enter Germany, enteringAachen, a city on the border.
: Dutch railway workers go on strike. The German response results in theDutch famine of 1944.

11:United StatesXXI Corps arrives in European Theater.
: theAir battle over the Ore Mountains (after German attacks on the US bomber formation, accompanying USMustangs engage the German fighters)

12: TheSecond Quebec Conference (codenamed "Octagon") begins: Roosevelt and Churchill discuss military cooperation in the Pacific and the future of Germany.^[19]

13: American troops reach theSiegfried Line, the west wall of Germany's defence system.

14: SovietBaltic Offensivecommences.

15: American Marinesland on Peleliu in thePalau Islands; a bloody battle of attrition continues for two and a half months.
: German troops begin their withdrawal from Lapland.

16: The Red Army entersSofia, Bulgaria.

17:Operation Market Garden, the attempted liberation ofArnhem and turning of the German flank begins.
: British and commonwealth forces enter neutralSan Marino and engage German forces in asmall-scale conflict which ends 20 September.

18:Brest, France, an important Channel port, falls to the Allies.
: Jüri Uluots proclaims theGovernment of Estonia headed by Deputy Prime MinisterOtto Tief.^[20]

19: TheMoscow Armistice is signed between the Soviet Union and Finland.^[3]
:Nancy liberated by U.S. First Army.

20: The Government of Estonia seizes the government buildings ofToompea from the German forces and appeals to the Soviet Union for the independence of Estonia.^[20] The Soviet advance sparks a major Estonian civil evacuation abroad, with ca. 80,000 people (7% of the pre-war population), including almost the entireCoastal Swedish minority, fleeing mostly over the Baltic Sea to Sweden.
: United StatesXVI Corps arrives in European Theater.

21: British forces takeRimini, Italy.
: The Second Dumbarton Oaks Conference begins: it will set guidelines for the United Nations.
: In Belgium,Charles of Flanders is sworn in as Prince-Regent while a decision is delayed about whetherKing Leopold III can ever return to his functions after being accused of collaboration.^[21]
:San Marino declares war on the Axis.
: The Government of Estonia prints a few hundred copies of theRiigi Teataja (State Gazette) and is forced to flee under Soviet pressure.^[22]

22: The Red Army takesTallinn, the firstBaltic harbour outside the minefields of theGulf of Finland.
: The Germans surrender atBoulogne.

23: Americans takeUlithi atoll in theCaroline Islands; it is a massive atoll that will later become an important naval base.

24: The Red Army is well into Poland at this time.
The Estonian government ofOtto Tief fails to evacuate from Western Estonia and disbands, with most members of the government eventually captured by the Soviets.

25: British troops pull out of Arnhem with the failure of Operation Market Garden. Over 6,000 paratroopers are captured; of the British 1st Airborne Division, just under 8,000 of the 10,005 paratroopers are declared casualties, a staggering 80% loss.
:United StatesIX Corps arrives in Pacific Theater.

26: In Caserta, Italy the Greek government in exile concluded an agreement with various guerrilla leaders who acknowledged its authority. There are signs of civil war in Greece as the Communist-controlledNational Liberation Front and the British-backed government seem irreconcilable.

28: Brig. Gen.Theodore Roosevelt Jr., dead of a heart attack on 12 July 1944, is posthumously awarded theMedal of Honor for his leadership and actions on D-Day at Utah Beach.
:The Soviets capture entire mainland Estonia.

29: Soviet forces begin theMoonsund Landing Operation to capture theWest Estonian archipelago from German forces.

30: The German garrison inCalais surrenders to Canadian troops. At one time, Hitler thought it would be the focus of the cross-Channel invasion.

October 1944

1st

15th

1: A Hungarian delegation arrives inMoscow to negotiate an armistice with the USSR.^[2][3]
: Soviet troops enterYugoslavia.

2: Germans finally succeed in putting down the Warsaw Uprising by the PolishHome Army.
: American troops are now in a full-scale attack on the German "West Wall".
: Allied forces land onCrete.

3: Soviet forces captureHiiumaa island in Estonia.

5: Canadian troops cross the border into the Netherlands.
: The Red Army enters Hungary and also launch an offensive to captureRiga, Latvia.

6: Soviet and Czechoslovak troops enter northeasternSlovakia.
: TheBattle of Debrecen begins as German and Soviet forces advance against each other in eastern Hungary.

7: A riot took place atAuschwitz concentration camp when theSonderkommando, Jewish prisoners forced to aid with the disposal of victims of the Holocaust, came to understand that they also were slated for extermination. Over 450 were killed in suppressing the revolt, along with many others who escaped the camp in the melee.^[23]

9: TheMoscow Conference (1944) begins: Churchill and Stalin discuss spheres of influence in the postwar Balkans.

10: The Red Army reach theNiemen River inPrussia and continue the battle around Riga.
: The Allied combined forces takeCorinth, Greece.

12:Athens is liberated by theEAM.
: US Navy carriers attack Formosa (Taiwan).
:United StatesXXIII Corps Arrives in the European Theater.

14: British troops enter Athens.
: Field Marshal Rommel, under suspicion as one of the "bomb plotters" voluntarily commits suicide to save his family. He is later buried with full military honors.

15: Hungarian regentMiklós Horthy is overthrown by the Germans, who replace him withFerenc Szálasi.^[2][3]
: Allied bombardment ofAachen continues, the first major battle on German soil.

16: Red Army forces are attacking German forces in East Prussia.

18: Hitler orders a call-up of all remaining men from 16 to 60 for Home Guard duties in theVolkssturm Militia.

20: TheBattle of Leyte: U.S. forces land onLeyte, Philippines. MacArthur lands and states: "I have returned".^[2][3][24]
:The Red Army and Yugoslav partisans under the command ofJosip Broz Tito liberateBelgrade.

21:Aachen is occupied by U.S. First Army; it is the first major German city to be captured.

23-26: TheBattle of Leyte Gulf: TheUnited States Third Fleet and theUnited States Seventh Fleet win a decisive naval battle over the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Philippine Islands.^[3]

23: The Allies recognise General de Gaulle as the head of a provisional government of France.
: B-29s are now using Tinian Island, in the Marianas, as a base for the systematic bombing of Japan.
: Soviet forces in cooperation with Tito's Partizan forces, liberatedNovi Sad in Yugoslavia.

25: Three distinct air engagements in theBattle of Leyte Gulf take place as U.S. Navy carrier-based planes destroy many Japanese ships in the waters off the Philippines.
:Romania is fully liberated by Red Army and Romanian troops.

27: TheBattle of Hürtgen Forest is developing. It will continue through October and November and have its last attacks in December.

November 1944

1st

15th

1: British forces occupySalonika, Greece, and distribute food in Athens, which is experiencing famine.
: "Operation Infatuate", an Allied attempt to free the approaches to Antwerp begins; amphibious landings take place onWalcheren Island.

2: Canadian troops takeZeebrugge in Belgium; Belgium is now entirely liberated.

4: Remaining Axis forces withdraw from the Greek mainland. German occupation forces will remain in several Greek islands until capitulation.

British Gen.John Dill dies in Washington, D.C., and is buried inArlington National Cemetery, the only foreigner to be so honored at the time.

5: US planesbomb Singapore, the first of 11 such raids between November 1944 and March 1945.
: The aircraft carrierUSSLexington is heavily damaged by kamikaze attacks.

7:Election Day in the U.S.:Roosevelt wins anunprecedented, unrepeated fourth term as U.S. president.

9: General Patton's troops and tanks cross theMoselle River and threatenMetz.

10: V-2 rockets continue to hit Britain, at the rate of about eight a day.

12: After numerous bombings while anchored in a fjord atTromsø, Norway, theGerman battleshipTirpitz is sunk.

17: The Germans give upTirana,Albania which is liberated by local partisans.

20: Hitler leaves his wartime headquarters atRastenberg,East Prussia, never to return; he goes to Berlin, where he will soon establish himself at theFührerbunker.

23: Metz, France is taken, andStrasbourg, in eastern France, is liberated by French troops.

24: The firstB-29 originating fromTinian Naval Base, in the Marianas, raids Tokyo.

25: Japanese takeNanning in south China, as the war in that theatre continues.
: TheUSS Intrepid is hit by kamikazes for the third time; other American ships are heavily damaged.
: Soviet forces captureSaaremaa island, the last major German outpost in Estonia, culminating theMoonsund Landing Operation.

26: The war in Italy is at a stalemate, partly because of heavy rains.

Heinrich Himmler orders the crematoriums and gas chambers ofAuschwitz II-Birkenau dismantled and blown up.

28:Antwerp is now a major supply port for the onward moving Allies.

30:Kunming, China, site ofChengkung Airfield andKunming Airport, is threatened by Japanese attacks.
:United StatesXXII Corps arrives in European Theater.
: TheThiaroye Massacre begins inFrench West Africa.

December 1944

1st

15th

3:The British army and the police shoot unarmed protestors in Athens; the crowd carried Greek, American, British and Soviet flags, and chanted: "Viva Churchill, Viva Roosevelt, Viva Stalin’"

3: TheDekemvriana ("December events") begin in the Greek capital, Athens, between members of the leftist National Liberation Front and government forces, backed by the British. The clashes are limited to Athens, however, and the rest of the country remains relatively tranquil.
: TheBritish Home Guard is stood down.

5: The Allies are now in control ofRavenna, Italy.

8: The softening-up bombardment ofIwo Jima begins.

14: Japanese defenders inPalawan in the Philippines kill over 100 American POWs in thePalawan Massacre.^[2][3]
: Units of Air Group 80 fromUSS Ticonderoga flew seven strikes against Japanese positions in northernLuzon in the Philippines.^[2]

15: Americans and Filipinos land troops atMindoro island in the Philippines.^[2][3]
: Bandleader and US Army MajorGlenn Miller went missing as his single-engine transport was crossing the English Channel; he was headed to Paris to work out arrangements to entertain troops in France.
: German forces evacuateRuhnu island, their last outpost in Estonia. The Soviets capture the island on 19 December.

16: TheBattle of the Bulge begins as German forces attempt a breakthrough in theArdennes region. The main object of Hitler's plan is the retaking of Antwerp.

17: TheMalmedy massacre: SS troops execute 84 American prisoners in the Ardennes offensive. The SS troops are led by SS commanderJoachim Peiper.
:Typhoon Cobra hits the Third Fleet of Admiral Halsey; three destroyers capsize and almost 800 lives are lost.

18:Bastogne, an important crossroads, is surrounded.

22: The battle for Bastogne is at its height, with soldiers of the101st Airborne Division running low on ammunition, food and other vital supplies. Brigadier GeneralAnthony McAuliffe's famous "Nuts!" reply is sent to German commanders at Bastogne demanding surrender; the news of the message serves to bolster morale of the Allied troops.

23: The skies clear over the Ardennes, permitting Allied aircraft to begin their attacks on the German offensive, the one factor that Hitler feared in his planning.

24: The American counter-attack at the "Bulge" begins.
: The Belgian transport shipSS Leopoldville is sunk off the coast of France. More than 800 lives, predominantly those of American servicemen, are lost.
:Manchester is attacked byV1 flying bombs

26: The siege of Bastogne is broken by Patton's Third Army tanks, and with it the Ardennes offensive collapses into failure.
: Racial tensions within the US military boil over into theAgana race riot onGuam.

28: Churchill and his Foreign SecretaryAnthony Eden are in Athens in an attempt to reconcile the warring factions.

29: Soviet troops begin theSiege of Budapest.^[2][3]

31: The Soviet-backed Hungarian Provisional Government declares war on Germany.^[2][3]

• Strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II
• Timeline of World War II (1945)

• Timeline of WWII
• Documents of World War II
• World War II Timeline

• Chronology of World War II
• 1944 in military history
• World War II by year

• CS1 maint: location missing publisher
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles needing additional references from June 2023
• All articles needing additional references
• Use dmy dates from July 2015