The Red Army commenced the First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive, the invasion of Romania.
Or maybe it did. This is asserted by historian David Glanz, but the Soviets themselves don't really acknowledge it, perhaps because the effort was botched, as will be seen.
It seems to me that Glanz is likely correct.
The Luftwaffe began cargo flights from Polish airfields to Manchuria, using Junkers Ju 290 A-9 aircraft. Or at least maybe they did. This is fairly consistently asserted, but the details are obscure and there are obvious problems with the assertion, as common as it is. For one thing, even at very high altitude, it would be surprising that the Red Army would not have shot at least one of the planes down. Sill, at least some experts on the Luftwaffe claim it occured. Others are skeptical.
I'm pretty skeptical.
For one reason, Imperial Japan was at peace with the Soviet Union, and I don't imagine that it would have wanted to risk that in 1944 when it was already losing in the Pacific. It was doing okay in China and in Southeast Asia, but it didn't have the manpower to add the USSR to its list of enemies, particularly over something of such doubtful utility.
Secondly, flying clean over the USSR and not getting shot down would be tough. Even if we assume, and we probably can, that for much of the flight it would not have encountered any opposition, early on it certainly might, and then again nearer its destination.
Finally, the Germans kept records on everything they did, and such records seem to be lacking here.
The Red Army began a determined assault into Crimea through its land bridge with Ukraine.
The Battle of the Tennis Court happened within the Battle of Kohima. It was a pitched, hand to hand, battle that went on for several days. It has been referred to as one of the greatest battles in history, and a British/Indian Thermopylae
The German submarine U-2 hit the German trawler Helmi Söhle and sank off of Pilau.
The U-962 was sunk off of Cape Finisterre by the Royal Navy.
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