On the Eastern Front… German forces launch counterattacks northwest of Budapest which aim to break the Soviet siege of the city. The main forces involved in this offensive are those of the 4th SS Panzer Corps (Gille), 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf and 5th SS Pz. Div. Wiking, [which have been withdrawn from the OKH reserve behind Warsaw without the consent or knowledge of Guderian, the German Army Chief of the General Staff] and 96th Infantry Division. The Soviet 31st Guards Rifle Corps, of 4th Guards Army (part of 2nd Ukrainian Front), is driven by about 20 miles.

On Western Front… In the Ardennes, US 3rd Army troops take Bonnerue, Hubertmont and Remagne. In Alsace, the German pressure and the US 7th Army withdrawals continue.

From Berlin… Hitler turns down requests from Model and Manteuffel for withdrawals from the area west of Houffalize.

Over Germany… About 1000 USAAF bombers nominally attack troop concentrations and communications in western Germany while about 1000 RAF bombers strike Nuremburg and Ludwigshafen.

From Britain… Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, Naval Commander in Chief Allied Expeditionary Force, and organizer of the Dunkirk evacuation, is killed in an airplane accident while traveling from Paris to Belgium.

In the North Atlantic… An American Sikorsky helicopter is used in convoy escort duties for the first time.

In the Caroline Islands… Fais Island is occupied by an American amphibious force.