Mediterranean
Italy: 5th US AND BRITISH 8th ARMIES ATTACK GUSTAV LINE (Operation Diadem) on 48-km front, supported by MAAF (2,750 sorties) and thousands of guns. During the previous 8 weeks British 8th Army has been secretly transferred from the Adriatic sector to Cassino. British 8th Army secures bridgeheads over river Rapido and 5th US Army over the Garigliano. Americans capture the much-contested Damiano Hill; French capture Monte Faito (777 m). General Alexander issues Order of Day to Allied Armies: ‘We are going to destroy the German armies in Italy . . . no armies have ever entered battle before with a more just and righteous cause.’
Air War
Western Europe: Oberst Walter Oesau, fighter ‘ace’ (123 victories), shot down and killed over Eifel Mountains. 9th US Air Force begins series of raids on airfields round Caen. Avro Lancaster ‘S for Sugar’, of RAF No. 467 Squadron, completes its 100th mission.
Sea War
Mediterranean: Allied warships bombard German heavy batteries at Gaeta (Italy).
