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• Sir Henry Maitland Wilson was designated Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean, with General Harold Alexander as the Commander-in-Chief of Allied Armies in Italy under him. ww2dbase [Harold Alexander | TH]

• 50 Allied aircraft (Australian Kittyhawk fighters and US F6F fighters) conducted a fighters sweep over Rabaul, New Britain. A raid by heavy bombers followed the fighter sweep. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 | Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]

• 18 B-24 bombers of US 14th Air Force, escorted by fighters, attacked Tianhe Airfield in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, claiming 20 Japanese fighters shot down; one B-24 bomber was shot down. ww2dbase [Tianhe Airfield | Guangzhou, Guangdong | CPC]

• New Zealand 5th Infantry Brigade engaged in combat along the Gustav Line in Italy. In Ortona, Italy, German troops counterattacked against Canadian positions and caused heavy casualties. ww2dbase [Advance to the Gustav Line | Ortona, Abruzzo | CPC]

• General Nikolai Vatutin launched another winter offensive, starting with the capture of Berdychiv, Ukraine. ww2dbase [Nikolai Vatutin | Berdychiv, Zhytomyr | TH]

• US Army General Dwight Eisenhower was named the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. ww2dbase [Dwight Eisenhower | England | CPC]
• While in Britain, Oliver Leese received orders to take command of British Eighth Army in Italy. ww2dbase [Oliver Leese | CPC]

24 Dec 1943 Interactive Map