31 Dec 1944
  • Cruiser Köln was damaged by Allied aerial attacks. ww2dbase [Köln | CPC]
  • The British Home Guard was officially disbanded. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • One B-17 Flying Fortress bomber of USAAF 8th Air Force attacked Helgoland, Germany. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | CPC]
  • German troops launched Operation Sylvester/Operation Nordwind, attacking south near Strasbourg, France. ww2dbase [TH]
  • Otto Skorzeny arrived at Wolfsschanze in East Prussia, Germany. He received care for his wounded left eye from Hitler's personal doctor Stumpfecker. Later in the day, he reported to Hitler regarding his commando mission during the Ardennes Offensive. As he departed, Wilhelm Keitel invited him to remain to join the rest of the German leaders for the New Year's celebration, but Skorzeny declined, opting to re-join his men in Cologne, Germany instead. ww2dbase [Otto Skorzeny | CPC]
  • Theodor Osterkamp retired from the German Luftwaffe with the rank of Generalleutnant (equivalent to Air Vice Marshal in the British RAF). ww2dbase [Theodor Osterkamp | AC]
  • Light carrier Ryuho departed Moji, Japan with convoy HI-87 with 58 Ohka weapons on board. ww2dbase [Ryuho | CPC]
  • Lieutenant-General Sir Richard McCreery took over command of the British Eighth Army in Italy from Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver Leese. ww2dbase [AC]
Belgium Burma Germany Greece
  • Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens was invested with the royal powers of Greece pending his regency and called upon General Nikolaos Plastiras to form a Government. ww2dbase [Damaskinos | AC]
Hungary Japan
  • Kamoi departed Moji, Japan with convoy HI-87 for Takao, Taiwan. ww2dbase [Kamoi | Moji, Fukuoka | CPC]
Netherlands
  • 18 Type XXVIIB5 Seehund submarines set sail from IJmuiden, Netherlands on their first mission, but an unexpected storm would destroy 16 of them before they reached their targets. ww2dbase [Type XXVII | IJmuiden, Noord-Holland | CPC]
Panama Canal Zone Philippines
  • Jack Heyn arrived on Mindoro island, Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [Jack Heyn | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • German V-2 rocket hit near the intersection of Stroud Green Road and Stapledon Hall Road in Crouch Hill, London, England, United Kingdom at 2340 hours, killing 15 and seriously injuring 34. 15 homes were destroyed by this attack. This rocket was the 382nd, and the last, rocket to hit England in 1944. ww2dbase [Vergeltungswaffe 2 | V-Weapons Campaign | London, England | CPC]
United States Photo(s) dated 31 Dec 1944
American transport USS Barrow making smoke screen during a rehearsal landing for Iwo Jima invasion, late 1944 or early 1945USS Sanborn (APA-193) at anchor, circa late-1944 or 1945, photo 1 of 4USS Sanborn (APA-193) at anchor, circa late-1944 or 1945, photo 2 of 4USS Sanborn (APA-193) in harbor at dawn or dusk, circa late-1944 or 1945, photo 1 of 4
See all photos dated 31 Dec 1944

31 Dec 1944 Interactive Map

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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Famous WW2 Quote
"All that silly talk about the advance of science and such leaves me cold. Give me peace and a retarded science."

Thomas Dodd, late 1945


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