Bazooka Vs Panzer. Battle Of The Bulge 1944 (Os...

Lt. Col. Chappuis had a few minutes to orient his companies toward the oncoming tanks, but two tank destroyers from Company B of the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion absorbed the initial shock and were knocked out as they fell back toward the Champs road. As the panzers rolled forward, Company C made an orderly withdrawal to the edge of a large wood lot midway between Champs and Hemroulle. The Paratroopers showered the tanks with fire, and the German infantry clinging to the decks and sides fell to the snow. The tank detachment again wheeled into column, this time turning toward Champs. Two Bastogne, 25-26 December 1944 of the 705th tank destroyers, which were supporting Company C, caught the column in the process of turning and destroyed three of the panzers while the paratroopers destroyed two more with bazookas. John Ballard of Able Company accounted for one of the two German tanks destroyed by paratroopers in Champs.

Bazooka vs Panzer. Battle of the Bulge 1944 (Os...

The half of the enemy formation which had kept on toward Hemroulle after knifing through the 327th encountered the a furious cross fire laid down by four of the 705th tank destroyers, tanks, artillery, and bazookas handled by the men of the 327th GIR. As recounted by Col. S. L. A. Marshall after the battle: "The German tanks were fired at from so many directions and with such a mixture of fire that it was not possible to see or say how each tank met its doom." The survivors of those panzer grenadiers of the 1st Battalion who had ridden into battle on the tanks found themselves surrounded and alone, for the American rifle line had sealed itself after the initial armored punctures. About fifty German riflemen who had hidden in a stream bed were captured by artillerymen from the 755th.

Japanese prime minister Tojo Hideki's reign is short-lived: Japanese prime minster Tojo Hideki reviews a regiment of Thai troops in January 1944. Disagreements within the Japanese supreme command over the conduct of the war prompted Tojo to name himself chief of Army General Staff in February. This unprecedented move brought the prime minister to the pinnacle of his power. His reign, however, was short-lived. Disaster followed disaster on the battlefield, culminating in mid-1944 with the fall of Saipan. Abandoned by his political backers, Tojo and his entire cabinet resigned on July 18, 1944. Once one of the most powerful men in Asia, Tojo went into seclusion.

Allies ultimately prevail in Burma campaign: The fate of the China-Burma-India region was determined by the British 14th Army's successful Burma campaign (supported by U.S.-led Chinese Nationalist forces) from mid-1944, following its victories at Imphal and Kohima. The experienced and battle-hardened Japanese had initially enjoyed some successes against the British and Indian forces from 1942 to early 1944. However, Japan's overextended logistic support system finally frustrated its strategic plans. Mandalay was occupied by the Allies in March, and Rangoon fell in May. The Japanese forces in Burma eventually surrendered on August 28, 1945.

Nazis produce the Fritz-X rocket, the first successful radio-guided missile: Before and during World War II, the Germans researched rocket and missile technology. Even before German V-1 pilotless "buzz bombs" and V-2 ballistic missiles struck London and other cities in 1944-45, underground factories worked to complete a V-3 gun designed to fire long-range warheads. The Germans' "Fritz-X" missile (pictured) was the first successful radio-guided bomb. Fritz-X missiles sank the Italian battleship Roma and the British cruiser Spartan, and damaged other Allied warships. 041b061a72