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• US 83rd Infantry Division became part of the VII Corps of US First Army while being attached to the British 21st Army Group. ww2dbase [CPC]

• US Third Army under George Patton relieved the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium. ww2dbase [Battle of the Bulge | Bastogne | TH]

• William Slim transferred 19th Division and 268th Armored Brigade from the Indian 4th Corps to the Indian 33rd Corps to hide from Japanese intelligence the fact that the 4th Corps was about to secretly move through the Gangaw Valley along the Myittha River for Meiktila, Burma. A fake 4th Corps headquarters was also to be set up at Tamu. ww2dbase [Battle of Meiktila-Mandalay | CPC]

• Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz held an official court of inquiry aboard destroyer tender USS Cascade at Ulithi, Caroline Islands over the losses during Typhoon Cobra. No conclusions would be made on this date. ww2dbase [Typhoon Cobra | Ulithi | CPC]
• USS Wasp arrived at Ulithi, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Wasp (Essex-class) | Ulithi | CPC]

• Soviet armies surrounded Budapest, beginning a siege on the Hungarian capital that would last 102 days. More than a million civilians were trapped in the city during the fighting. By the time the city surrendered in Apr 1945, the Russians had lost 80,000 troops killed and 240,000 wounded; the Germans and Hungarians 38,000 dead and 62,000 wounded; 38,000 civilians had perished. ww2dbase [Budapest Strategic Offensive Operation | Budapest | AC]

• Two Italian divisions and three German battalions launched an offensive in Toscana, Italy, capturing several towns and villages. On the same day, 19th Infantry Brigade of Indian 8th Infantry Division began to arrive in the region. ww2dbase [Battle of Garfagnana | Toscana | CPC]
• In order to blunt the spearhead of a German advance at Sommocolonia, Toscana, Italy, US artillery observer John Fox called in strikes progressively closer to his own position until he called a strike on the house where he was located. He was killed by the final artillery barrage, along with approximately 100 German soldiers. ww2dbase [Gothic Line Offensive | John Fox | Sommocolonia, Toscana | CPC]

• Korechika Anami was made the Inspector General of Army Aviation and a member of the Supreme War Council. ww2dbase [Korechika Anami | CPC]
• Kamoi arrived at Kure, Japan. ww2dbase [Kamoi | Kure, Hiroshima | CPC]

• USS Segundo sailed through rough seas with crests up to 40 feet. A particularly large wave crashed over the submarine unexpectedly, and the great amount of water that got in damaged both master and auxiliary compasses. ww2dbase [Segundo | CPC]

• German V-2 rocket hit Islington, London, England, United Kingdom at 2126 hours, killing 68 and seriously injuring 99. The rocket left two craters, one 40 feet wide and 12 feet deep, the other 10 feet wide and 4 feet deep. ww2dbase [V-Weapons Campaign | Vergeltungswaffe 2 | London, England | CPC]

• USS Ancon departed Charleston, South Carolina, United States. ww2dbase [Ancon | Charleston, South Carolina | CPC]
• Escort carrier USS Bogue and her task group departed Norfolk bound for Bermuda. ww2dbase [Bogue | Norfolk Navy Yard | Norfolk, Virginia | DS]

26 Dec 1944 Interactive Map