Today in World War II History—June 5, 1944

American tank destroyers at the Colosseum, Rome, June 1944 (US Army photo)

80 Years Ago—June 5, 1944: US Fifth Army secures Rome; Gen. Mark Clark gives victory speech on Capitoline Hill, and Pope Pius XII addresses GIs in St. Peter’s Square.

Countdown to D-day: at 4:15 am, a more favorable weather report leads Gen. Dwight Eisenhower to order the invasion of Normandy to proceed for June 6: “Okay, let’s go.”

At night, RAF Bomber Command flies 1200 sorties, hitting ten gun batteries in Normandy before dawn.

First combat mission is flown with B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers: US 20th Bomber Command sends 98 B-29s from India to bomb Japanese-held Bangkok.

US Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bomber (US Air Force photo)

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