Paratroopers belonging to the US 503rd Parachute
Infantry Regiment land on Kamirir airstrip,
Noemfoor, July 2, 1944

Same task, different island - flushing out Japanese
defenders on Tinian, one of the Mariana Islands,
with a pack howitzer

July 2
Italy, Tuscany
The British XIII Corps takes the town of Foiano, northwest of Lake Trasimeno, thereby completing the breakthrough of the German Albert Line.

July 4
Eastern Front, Baltic
The Red Army offensive to clear the Baltic states begins. Three Soviet Fronts - 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Baltic - are to be used. The Baltic states are of major importance to Germany, as they are a major source of food and enable the Germans to blockade the Russian fleet and keep supply lanes to Sweden and Finland open.

July 7-9
Pacific, Marianas
The Japanese commander on Saipan, General Yoshitsugu Saito, launches a mass charge against the US 27th Infantry Division at Makunsho. Despite losing hundreds of men to US gunfire, the Japanese crash through the American lines. However, they soon lose their momentum and fail. Saito commits suicide and the island is declared secure on the 9th. At least 8000 Japanese defenders and civilians have committed suicide rather than surrender.

July 8
Politics, Hungary
With the Red Army fast approaching, Hungary's leader, Admiral Mikl—s Horthy, orders a halt to the deportation of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz concentration camp.

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