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WWII On This Day: December 15

What happened on December 15 during World War II? This date brings together 2 events from 1944, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1944
Men of the 101st Airborne Division moving toward Bastogne on 19 December 1944 as Allied reserves enter the Ardennes battle.
101st Airborne Division on the road between Bastogne and Houffalize, 19 December 1944 · US Army Signal Corps SC 329953 · NARA · Public domain · Source
The Battle of the Bulge

A quiet sector

On 15 December the Ardennes still functioned in Allied planning as an economy-of-force sector. The 106th Infantry Division had only recently entered the line, while the 28th and 4th Infantry Divisions had been badly worn in the Hürtgen fighting. The front was not literally held by four complete divisions evenly spaced across eighty miles. Boundaries, attached armoured elements and neighbouring corps complicated that shorthand. What mattered was that the density of troops and reserves was far lower than on the sectors where Allied headquarters expected the next major operations. Across…

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A converted cable ship laying pipeline across the English Channel, 1944.
Pipeline laying in the Channel, 1944 ·
Operation PLUTO

Six HAIS lines laid, four operating

By mid-December six HAIS cables had been laid across the Straits, but only four were operational and pressure remained below the planned level. Average delivery was approximately 700 long tons per day. The Royal Navy questioned whether the laying effort should continue.

Continue in Operation PLUTO →