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• » 5 Mar 1944

• Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front under Ivan Konev attacked toward Uman, Ukraine. ww2dbase [TH]
• Operation Thursday was launched. William Slim flew to Hailakandi, India to oversee the launch. One of the intended glider landing spots in Burma was found by pre-operation reconnaissance flights to be defended by newly-arrived Japanese troops, and Wingate accused Slim or the Chinese of betrayal (in actuality, Japanese Army lumberjacks had coincidentally started working in the region); troops originally intended to land at that spot were diverted to other landing areas. Several gliders were lost by the over-burdened glider towing aircraft, but the operation would still get underway. ww2dbase [Operation Thursday | AC]

• USS Hoe arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her third war patrol. ww2dbase [Hoe | Fremantle, Western Australia | CPC]

• Chuck Yeager was shot down over France on his eighth mission, and was saved by members of the French resistance. ww2dbase [The French Resistance | Charles Yeager | CPC]

• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Air Group 15 on board. ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]

• William Slim requested his superiors to assign an additional division to defend Kohima and Dimapur, India. He would only receive two battalions of Indian parachute troops. ww2dbase [Battle of Imphal-Kohima | Kohima, Assam | CPC]

• Three Italian motor torpedo boats attacked the Allied beachhead at Anzio, Italy before dawn, causing no damage and suffering no losses. ww2dbase [Anzio, Lazio | CPC]

• 732 Jews from the Westerbork transit camp arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in Poland. 477 of them were sent to the gas chambers without being registered into the camp. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
• Auschwitz-Birkenau camp officials decided to gas the Czech Jews of Theresienstadt camp (sector BIIb). They were given postcards post-dated 25-27 Mar 1944 with pre-printed message "we are healthy and fine" and were told to sign them. These prisoners were gassed on 8 Mar 1944 and the postcards were mailed after 25 Mar. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]

• The second BTD Destroyer prototype aircraft took its first flight. ww2dbase [BTD Destroyer | CPC]

5 Mar 1944 Interactive Map