5 January 1939

GERMANY: The German Worker's Party (DAP) is formally founded in Munich at the Furstenfelder Hof tavern by Anton Drexler and others. Drexler's constitution is accepted by 24 men, mostly from the locomotive works where Drexler is employed, and he is elected chairman. The German Army is worried that the DAP is a left-wing revolutionary group and sends Adolf Hitler, one of its education officers, to spy on the organization. Hitler discovers that the party's political ideas are similar to his own but is unimpressed with the way the party is organized. Hitler persuades Drexler to change the name of the party to the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP). In 1921, Hitler challenges Drexler for the leadership of the party and after brief resistance, Drexler accepts the inevitable, and Hitler became the new leader of the NSDAP. Drexler leaves the NSDAP in 1923. (Germanenorden).

U.S.A.: Japanese Ambassador DEBUCHI Katsuji tells the United States Japan has no territorial ambition south of the Great Wall of China, but Manchukuo was a closed question. He also states that ". . . no Japanese Cabinet which advocated a compromise of the 'Manchukuo' question could survive in Japan . . ."

Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge which will stretch across San Francisco Bay. With its tall towers and famous red-paint, the bridge quickly became a famous American landmark and a symbol of San Francisco, California.

U.S.A.: In baseball, both the National and American Leagues decide to use a standard-size baseball. It is the first time in 33 years that both leagues used the same size ball.

U.S.A.: The Chance Vought XSB2U-1 Vindicator makes its first flight. A total of 170 SB2Us are delivered and the aircraft remains in service with the USN until December 1943.

POLAND: The Danzig-Polish harbour agreement is extended. This agreement defining the use of the Danzig port by Poland was originally signed on 5 August 1933.

GERMANY: Berlin: Polish Foreign Minister Joseph Beck confers with Chancellor Adolf Hitler at Berchtesgaden. Hitler says he is considering a formula that would make Danzig politically German and economically Polish, and that he is ready to give a formal and clear guarantee for the German-Polish frontiers.

Leslie Hore-Belisha, the Secretary of State for War, has resigned from the cabinet. Mr. Chamberlain told him that he could have another senior post, but must be moved from the War Office. Mr. Hore-Belisha had quarrelled with the army generals over strategy and his own insistence on better welfare services for the troops, retorted that he preferred to leave the government.

PM Chamberlain changes his cabinet. Oliver Stanley becomes Minister of War; Lord Reith becomes Minister for Information and Sir Andrew Duncan arrives at the Board of Trade.

RAF Bomber Command: Leaflets and reconnaissance - Hamburg - Bremen. 51 Sq. Two aircraft. Opposition moderate.
Security Patrols - Hornum - Borkum. 51 Sq. Two aircraft. Opposition moderate.

The first production Fairey Fulmer Mk. I carrier-based two-seat reconnaissance fighter, s/n N1854, makes its first flight at Ringway, Cheshire, England. The aircraft serves as the prototype. The Fulmar entered squadron service in June 1940 and 600 aircraft are built. The Fulmar remained in service until August 1945.

SPAIN: The German tanker SS Nordmeer, which sailed from Curacao, Netherlands West Indies, on 9 December 1939, reaches Vigo, Spain.

FINLAND: The Soviet 18th Division is encircled north of Lake Ladoga.

The Finnish 9th Division starts an attack in the Raate road, which leads to nearly complete destruction of Soviet's 44th Division in two days. The first Soviet air attack on the general headquarters town of Mikkeli causes 29 dead.

Both Norway and Sweden reject an Allied request to allow unofficial aid shipments to pass through them onto Finland.

U.S.S.R.: The government accuses Norway and Sweden of pursuing an "unneutral" policy.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: ASW trawler HMS Kingston Cornelian sunk in collision with French SS Chella East of Gibraltar.

U.S.A.: The first demonstration of Frequency Modulated (FM) radio transmission, developed by E H Armstrong, is given to the Federal Communications Commission. The first U.S. commercial FM radio station will begin broadcasting in Nashville, Tennessee, in March 1941.

Amy Johnson, the airwoman who made flying history with her 10,000 mile solo flight to Australia ten years ago, is feared to have died when the aircraft she was ferrying for the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) crashed into the Thames Estuary. There was no enemy air activity at the time, and it is thought that 38-year-old Miss Johnson lost her way in bad weather conditions and ran out of fuel. The crew of the naval trawler Haslemere saw her bale out of the trawler's captain Lieutenant-Commander W E Fletcher, dived into the sea despite the heavy swell and reached her, but was unable to support her. He was so exhausted by his valiant efforts and so frozen by the bitter sea that he died in hospital.

Miss Johnson's family heard of the accident when they were telephoned by Miss Pauline Gower, the head of the ATA which ferries aircraft from factories to the front line squadrons.

"Amy has been flying as a ferry pilot for six months," her mother said tonight. "She was intensely happy in the knowledge that she was working for her country in this way; in fact, I have never known her as light-hearted as she has been during recent months."

Amy Johnson took off from Squire's Gate airfield in Blackpool and was headed for Kidlington in Oxfordshire, in an Airspeed Oxford.

A civilian version of the Oxford, the Envoy was made. One of these, Aus. registration VH-UXY was lost off Hawaii, having left Oakland, California, December 4, 1935. Piloted by Charles Ulm, the plane was named "Stella Australis". He and his crew, George Littlejohn, co-pilot and Leon Skilling, navigator were attempting to fly to Australia. Ulm had previously made this trip with Charles Kingsford-Smith in June, 1928, in a Fokker F.VII3m named "Southern Cross".

VICHY FRANCE: Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (Retired) arrives in Vichy as US ambassador.

ITALY: RAF bombers hit Palermo, Naples and its suburbs, and a chemical factory at Crotone.

LIBYA: Bardia is captured by O'Connor after an assault of less than four days. The Australian 6th Division takes 45,000 prisoners including four generals, 462 guns, 130 tanks and over 700 trucks; Australian casualties are 130 KIA and 326 WIA. This is Australia's first major land battle of the war.

Wavell sets out ultimate objective as Benghazi, to be taken within the next week.

CHINA: Maolin: A large Kuomintang force attacks troops of the Communist New Fourth Army.

NETHERLANDS: Amsterdam: The Dutch Council of Churches today delivered a public protest against what it described as "the complete lawlessness" of the Nazis in their treatment of Dutch Jews. Despite the protest - the latest of many by the Dutch people - the round-up and deportation of Jews is certain to continue.

A year ago all Dutch Jews were ordered to register with the occupation authorities. Soon afterwards, the deportations to the stone quarries at Mauthausen slave labour camp, near Linz, in Austria began; few deportees survive for more than a few months.

FRANCE: During the night of 5/6 January, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 154 aircraft, 89 Wellingtons and 65 of other types, to attack German fleet units and the port area at Brest. Eighty seven aircraft are ordered to bomb the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau; 73 do. The remainder are ordered to bomb the naval docks and 65 do. A smoke-screen prevents accurate bombing but large fires are claimed. Another target is the port area at Cherbourg; 16 of the 37 aircraft dispatched bomb the port.

POLAND: The Communist Polish Workers Party is founded in Warsaw by Marceli Nowotko, Pawel Finder and Boleslaw Molojec. The old Communist Party of Poland had been liquidated at Stalin's order in 1938-39.

U.S.S.R.: Moscow: Carried away by recent small successes and against the advice of his chief of general staff, General Georgii Zhukov, Stalin orders a general offensive along the entire eastern front.

The Soviet Army lands reinforcements on the Crimean coast near Eupatoria and Sudak. in an effort to break the siege of the Sevastopol naval base, but can make little headway against firm German resistance. On the central front south of Kaluga, Soviet forces hold Belev, west of the Oka River. Action on northern front along the Volkhov River is indecisive.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Submarine HMS Upholder sinks an Italian submarine off the Lipari Islands.

The Italian submarine R.Smg. Ammiraglio Saint Bon is sunk at 0542 hours local by a torpedo from the British submarine HMS/M Upholder (N 99) north of Milazzo, Sicily, in position 38.02N, 15.22E. The Italian submarine is en route to Libya carrying 155 tons of gasoline (petrol) and ammunition. The torpedo hits on the starboard side causing the gasoline to explode. There are only three survivors.

In the Ionian Sea, the 5,413 ton Italian auxiliary cruiser and former passenger ship SS Citta di Palermo, is en route from Brindisi, Italy, to Patras, Greece, escorting the motor vessel MV Calino. On board SS Citta di Palermo are about 600 Italian troops. At 0800 hours. when 30 miles (48 kilometres) northwest of Cape Dukato, Lefkas Island, Ionian Islands, Greece, she is struck by two torpedoes fired by HMS/M Proteus (N 29). The Palermo took only six minutes to sink. There were a few survivors but almost all on board went down with the ship.

MIDDLE EAST: British General Claude E. Auchinleck, Commander in Chief Middle East Command, is given responsibility for Iraq and Iran. Lieutenant General Edward P. Quinan's forces in Iraq become the British Tenth Army, corresponding to the British Ninth Army under Gen Sir Henry Maitland Wilson in Syria. The British 18th and Indian 17th Divisions are both being moved from the Middle East to Bombay, India; Ceylon; and Singapore, Malaya, with "utmost dispatch."

BURMA: HQ of the Indian 17th Division is established at Moulmein. Of 3 the brigades that this division is to contain, only one, the Indian 16th, is in Burma.

MALAYA: The Commander-in-Chief Eastern Fleet moves HQ from Singapore to Batavia, Java, Netherlands East Indies. Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, General Officer Commanding Malaya Command, at a conference in Segamat, plans for a withdrawal into Johore. On the Slim River front, the Indian 11th Division repels an enemy attack down the railway line.

JAPAN: Tokyo accepts Laurenço Marques in Mozambique as a suitable site to exchange diplomats with the United States.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Luzon, U.S. and Filipino troops complete their withdrawal to a new line extending along the base of the Bataan Peninsula from Dinaluplhan on the west to Hermosa on the east. During the night 5/6 January, the withdrawal continues through Layac Junction, the funnel through which all roads into Bataan pass, the final elements clearing it by 0200 hours, after which the bridge is blown. A delaying position, called the Layac line, is formed south of Layac Junction and manned by the 71st and 72d Regiments of the 71st Division Philippine Army, the U.S. 31st Infantry of the Philippine Division, and the 26th Cavalry Philippine Scouts. The 31st Infantry, the only completely U.S. regiment in the Philippines, has not yet been in action. The food ration of the Bataan defence force and of garrisons of fortified islands in Manila Bay is cut in half. The Bataan echelon of HQ US Army Forces Far East is established on Bataan under Brigadier General Richard J. Marshall. The Japanese continue daily air attacks on Corregidor and occasional attacks on other targets in the Manila Bay area.
USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresses from Malang, Java, Netherlands East Indies, stage through Samarinda, Borneo, during the night of 4/5 January and attack shipping in Davao Bay on Mindanao Island.

AUSTRALIA: Canberra: The Australian War Cabinet today agreed to a British request for the transfer of the 1st Australian Corps, comprising the veteran 6th and 7th Divisions, from the Middle East to South-east Asia. In December Mr Churchill assured the Australian prime minister, John Curtin, that he would do everything possible to strengthen the whole Far Eastern front from Rangoon to Darwin.

The British 18th and Indian 17th Divisions were both being moved from the Middle East to Bombay, Ceylon and Singapore with "utmost dispatch."

U.S. Forces in Australia (USFIA) is redesignated U.S. Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA), and Major General George H Brett assumes command. Headquarters is located in the MacRobertson Girls High School in Melbourne, Victoria.

TERRITORY OF HAWAII: The air echelon of the Far East Air Force's 22d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 7th Bombardment Group (Heavy), which has been operating from Hickam Field, Territory of Hawaii, since 18 December 1941, departs for Singosari Airfield, Java, Netherlands East Indies, with B-17 Flying Fortresses. The ground echelon is at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

U.S.A.: The U.S. Senate Committee investigating Hollywood war propaganda is dissolved.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders all men between the ages of 20 and 44 to register for the draft (conscription) by 16 February.

Today is the deadline for enemy aliens in San Francisco, California, to surrender radio transmitters, shortwave receivers and precision cameras to the U.S. Army's Western Defence Command. Also Japanese-American selective service registrants are classified as enemy aliens (IV-C) and many Japanese-American soldiers are discharged or assigned to menial labour such as "kitchen police (KP)."

A change in USN regulations, covering display of National Insignia on aircraft, returned the star to the upper right and lower left wing surfaces and revised rudder striping to 13 red and white horizontal stripes.

UNITED KINGDOM: London: The Axis powers were given warning today that they will be forced to hand back the vast quantities of loot they have carried off from occupied countries. A foreign office statement claimed that the robberies have "taken every form from open looting to the most cunningly camouflaged financial penetration" and include works of art, bullion, banknotes, shares and commodities. Neutral countries used as hideaways by Axis agents will have to surrender all stolen property. The warning is issued jointly by Britain and 16 allies.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet forces take Tsimlyansk and Morozovsk, the main airfield used by the Luftwaffe to supply Stalingrad.

Caucasus: The Red Army is pushing down from Stalingrad towards Rostov-on-Don with the intention of trapping General von Kleist's Army Group A in the Caucasus. They have only 60 miles to go, while von Kleist's nose is stuck into the Caucasus mountains some 400 miles away. That nose has been bloodied in the past few days with the Russians recapturing the important towns of Mozdok and Nalchik. Another Soviet drive is developing towards Elista, on the Kalmyk steppe, threatening Armavir, a key link in von Kleist's communications with Rostov. If the Soviets cut him off they will win a great victory, and Hitler at first seemed to make that possible by refusing to allow von Kleist to withdraw.

He has now changed his mind and von Kleist is conducting a fighting retreat while von Manstein struggles to hold Rostov open for him to escape. It will not be easy. Der Montag reports: "Russian tanks come on in solid masses. Between them go units of long-distance ski and snowshoe runners. They carry with them even in the deepest snow, mortar batteries and anti-tank rifles.

The V Corps, British First Army, breaks off action on Djebel Azag and Djebel Ajred after hard fighting in heavy rain, withdrawing the assault force (36th Brigade, 78th Division) to their original positions.

Ten USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Sousse harbour (clouds obscure the primary target at Tunis).

Eighteen USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses, with a large P-38 Lightning escort, attack the Sfax power station while fighter-escorted B-26 Marauders hit the Kairouan Airfield. One B-17 is lost. Other fighters fly patrols, reconnaissance and C-47 Skytrain escort.

During the night of 5/6 January, RAF Liberators of No. 160 Squadron hit the harbours at Tunis and Sousse.

ALGERIA: In an organizational change, the Allied Air Force is activated to have operational control of Allied air units in Northwest Africa under the command of USAAF Major General Carl Spaatz. The new unit includes the USAAF Twelfth Air Force, the RAF Eastern Air Command and such French air units as might be assigned or attached to it. The command serves under the direction of Lieutenant General Dwight Eisenhower, Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces.

FRENCH MOROCCO: The US Fifth Army is activated under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, with headquarters at Oujda.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, advance elements of the Australian 9th Division's 18th Brigade (2/9th Battalion and brigade headquarters) and four tanks of the 2/6th Armoured Regiment reach Soputa. Additional tanks and artillery are kept east of the river for some time because of poor road conditions. As a preliminary to all out offensive against Sanananda, the U.S. 127th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, starts northwest along the coast toward Tarakena.

In Papua New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-26 Marauders again bomb the Sanananda Point area and A-20 Havocs and B-25 Mitchells hit the airfield at Lae.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The Japanese begin withdrawal of troops from Guadalcanal while the Gifu continues to hold out.

Major General Alexander Patch, Commanding General US XIV Corps on Guadalcanal issues his 1st phase orders for clearing Guadalcanal. He sets a line from the beach inland 3500 yards, which is 3000 yards west of the US lines as his first objective. This area contains the Gifu, the Seahorse and the Galloping Horse as the well known geographical features and/or Japanese defensive positions. The newly arrived 25th Division will lead this phase. In the movie The Thin Red Line, the Galloping Horse is known as the Dancing Elephant.

HMNZS Achilles joined a US Navy Task Force in the bombardment of Japanese positions on Munda and Kolombangara islands during the Guadalcanal operations, and suffered some damage during a Japanese air attack.

On Bougainville, USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresses with P-38 Lightning escort attack a cruiser at Buin on the southern coast. They are met by 25 "Zeke" (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) and float biplanes; three Japanese aircraft are shot down for the loss of two P-38s.

After bombarding airfield and installations at Munda, New Georgia, Solomon Islands, Task Group 67.2 heads south and joins the rest of Task Force 67. TG 67.2 is comprised of four light cruisers, HMNZS Achilles (70) and USS Helena (CL-50), Nashville (CL-43) and St. Louis (CL-49) and three USN destroyers. Japanese planes attack the force, near-missing USS Honolulu (CL 48) and damaging HMNZS Achilles (70), 18 nautical miles (33 kilometres) south of Cape Hunter, Guadalcanal. In the action, USS Helena (CL 50) becomes the first USN ship to use Mk. 32 proximity-fuzed projectiles in combat, downing a "Val" dive bomber (Aichi D3A, Navy Type 99 Carrier Bomber) with her second salvo.

US Navy gunners in the Pacific today become the first to fire shells equipped with the revolutionary new VT or proximity fuse. This consists of a tiny transmitting and receiving radio set which automatically detonates a shell at a predetermined distance from its target. The fuze transmits a radio beam, which, when it strikes a solid object, is reflected by that object and picked up by the receiver of the fuze. The beam then trips a switch within the fuze which detonates the shell. (W.D O'Neil)(217 p.257)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Six USAAF Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and six B-24 Liberators bomb the harbour, shipping and the airfield at Rabaul, New Britain Island. Two B-17s are lost, one taking Brigadier General Kenneth Walker, Commanding General V Bomber Command, to his death.

NEW BRITAIN: Rabaul: Brigadier General Kenneth N. Walker, U.S. Army Air Corps, Commander of V Bomber Command is awarded the MoH for his actions today.

For conspicuous leadership above and beyond the call of duty involving personal valour and intrepidity at an extreme hazard to life. As commander of the 5th Bomber Command during the period from 5 September 1942, to 5 January 1943, Brig. Gen. Walker repeatedly accompanied his units on bombing missions deep into enemy-held territory. From the lessons personally gained under combat conditions, he developed a highly efficient technique for bombing when opposed by enemy fighter airplanes and by antiaircraft fire. On 5 January 1943, in the face of extremely heavy antiaircraft fire and determined opposition by enemy fighters, he led an effective daylight bombing attack against shipping in the harbour at Rabaul, New Britain, which resulted in direct hits on 9 enemy vessels. During this action his airplane was disabled and forced down by the attack of an overwhelming number of enemy fighters. (Patrick Holscher)

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Three USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-25 Mitchells sink a 6,500-ton cargo vessel previously sighted by a USN PBY Catalina off Holtz Bay on the northeast side of Attu Island, where a weather and armed reconnaissance B-24 Liberator with a direct bomb hits and sinks another freighter shortly afterwards. A B-24 flies photographic reconnaissance over Amchitka Island, concentrating on Constantine Harbour. A Kiska Island attack mission of six heavy bombers, six medium bombers and 12 fighters is cancelled due to weather.

CANADA: : The Supreme Court of Canada upholds the War Measures Act, passed in 1914, which gives the federal Cabinet emergency powers to govern by decree when it perceives the existence of "war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended."

U.S.A.: William Jay Stone commences basic training, AARTC at Fort Eustis, Virginia. (William Jay Stone)

The conviction of Gordon K. Hirabayashi, who violated Seattle, Washington's curfew and exclusion restrictions on 16 May 1942, is reaffirmed by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California.

The US Army forms the 122nd Infantry Battalion (Separate). It is formed with personnel of Greek ancestry, at Camp Carson, Colorado. (Nick Minecci)

Educator and scientist George Washington Carver died in Tuskegee, Ala., at age 81.

In baseball, the teams agree to start the season later than usual and prepare to train in northern areas because of the war. Resorts, armouries, and university facilities are chosen for training sites. The Brooklyn Dodgers will train at Bear Mountain, New York; the St. Louis Cardinals in Cape Girardeau, Missouri; and the New York Yankees at Atlantic City, New Jersey. r and scientist George Washington Carver dies in Tuskegee, Ala., at age 81. On July 14, President Roosevelt will dedicate $30,000 for the George Washington Carver National Monument west-southwest of Diamond, Missouri - an area where Carver had spent time in his childhood. This was the first national monument dedicated to an African-American and first to a non-President. At this 210-acre national monument, there is a bust of Carver, a nature trail, a museum, the 1881 Moses Carver house, and the Carver cemetery. The National Monument will open in July, 1953. (Tony Morano)

Escort carrier USS Guadalcanal laid down.

Minesweeper USS Penetrate laid down.

Submarines USS Perch and Gabilan laid down.

Minesweeper USS Chief launched.

Educator and scientist George Washington Carver died in Tuskegee, Ala., at age 81. Before and after his death, there was a movement to establish a U.S. national monument to Carver. However, because of World War II such non-war expenditures were banned by presidential order. Missouri Senator Harry S Truman sponsored a bill anyway. In a committee hearing on the bill, one supporter argued that "The bill is not simply a momentary pause on the part of busy men engaged in the conduct of the war, to do honour to one of the truly great Americans of this country, but it is in essence a blow against the Axis, it is in essence a war measure in the sense that it will further unleash and release the energies of roughly 15,000,000 Negro people in this country for full support of our war effort. The bill passed in both houses without a single vote against.

UNITED KINGDOM: London: The Polish government in exile has tonight issued a statement towards co-operating with the Soviet Union now that the Red Army has advanced in strength into Polish territory.

The declaration makes it clear that the Polish underground movement has been instructed to co-operate with the Red Army only in the event of a resumption of Polish-Soviet relations. It thus reflects the tension that exists between the Poles, who fear Moscow's intentions and the Soviet Union, which has not yet recognized the Polish London based government in exile. Official circles in London gave the Polish declaration a cautious welcome, pointing out that without friendly relations between the two governments it would have been difficult for the Polish cabinet to instruct the underground movement to co-operate to the fullest degree.

The willingness of the Poles to re-establish good relations is noted with approval. The view is taken in Polish circles that their government has shown itself willing on many occasions to re-enter treaty relations with Russia, but no response has been made from Moscow.

Announcement was made of the establishment under the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission of a system of West Indian conferences.

The U.S. Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSAFE) is established under the command of General Carl Spaatz to co-ordinate operations of the two strategic air forces in Europe, the Eighth Air Force in the U.K. and the Fifteenth Air Force in Italy. The official abbreviation of this headquarters is changed to USSTAF on 4 February 1944.

A USAAF Eighth Air Force report concludes that the U.S. daylight strategic bombing program against Germany will be threatened unless steps are taken to reduce the German's fighter force, which has increased in strength in the west as a result of step-up in production, strengthening of firepower, and transfer of a larger percentage of fighters to the Western Front.

FRANCE: The USAAF flies Mission 176: 117 B-17 Flying Fortresses and 76 P-47 Thunderbolts are dispatched to bomb Merignac Airfield at Bordeaux: 112 B-17s bomb the target with the loss of 11 bombers and five P-47s. In a second attack, 79 B-17s escorted by 139 P-47s attack Tours Airfield; 78 B-17s bomb the target with the loss of one B-17. .

GERMANY: The USAAF flies Mission 176: 131 B-17 Flying Fortresses and 114 B-24 Liberators, escorted by 70 P-38 Lightnings and 41 P-51 Mustangs, are dispatched to bomb the shipyard and industrial area at Kiel; 216 bomb the U-boat yards with the loss of ten bombers and seven fighters. In addition, 73 of 78 B-17s, escorted by 243 P-47 Thunderbolts, attack targets of opportunity at Neuss, Geilenkirchen, Dusseldorf and Wassenburg with the loss of two B-17s.

During the night of 5/6 January, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 348 Lancasters and ten Halifaxes in the first large raid on Stettin since September 1941. The ten Mosquitos flying a diversion at Berlin successfully keep most of the German fighters away from the main force of bombers allowing 348 aircraft to bomb; 16 aircraft, 14 Lancasters and two Halifaxes, are lost, 4.5 per cent of the force. In other raids, 18 of 25 Mosquitos hit six other targets.

DENMARK: Copenhagen: The bullet-riddled body of Denmark's leading poet and dramatist, Kaj Munk, was found in a Jutland wood this morning, several hours after he was abducted by a German-Danish Nazi gang known as the Peter-Gruppe. Munk, who was 45, regularly denounced the Nazis from his pulpit in the church at Vedersoe, in West Jutland, where he was priest.

ITALY: The US 5th Army under General Mark Clark becomes operational. The U.S. Fifth Army begins its final assault on the Winter Line. The British X Corps withdraws from the Peccia River bridgehead, since tanks are unable to cross the river. Mt. Porchia, which dominates Cedro Hill, is still held by the German. In the U.S. II Corps area, Task Force A (6th Armoured Infantry Regiment, reinforced) of the 1st Armoured Division pushes toward Mt. Porchia, reaching the north-south road in front of it. The 3d Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division, jumping off during the night 4/5 January, clears part of the village strongpoint's of St. Vittore. 1st Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment, attacks toward La Chiaia, northwest of St. Vittore, beginning the night of 4/5 January, but is stopped by fire from St. Giusta. In conjunction with the assault of the 135th Infantry Regiment, the 168th Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division, begins a move to outflank La Chiaia and takes Hill 425. The 1st Special Service Force confines its activity to probing Mt. Majo with patrols.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force A-36 Apaches hit gun positions north of Mignano and on the south slope of Monte Porchia. Weather cancels other operations.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet troops recapture Berdichev, a rail junction south-west of Kiev.

BURMA: The Chinese 38th Division makes a vain attempt to clear the last strongpoint remaining between it and the Tarung River.

Three USAAF Tenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, supported by eight P-38 Lightnings, attack the Mu River bridge between Monywa and Ywataung which is being rebuilt; hits are scored on the east bank near the bridge and several sheds are set afire; the escorting fighters damage several nearby railway cars, strafe the nearby town, set a barge afire, blow up four tin buildings, and claim a river steamer sunk.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the gap between U.S. and Australian troops is narrowed to about 60 miles (97 kilometres) as the Australians reach Kelanoa on the north coast of the Huon Peninsula. U.S. patrols meet opposition at Cape Iris, west of Saidor. (Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, the ADC Group (7th Marine Regiment reinforced by a battalion of the 5th Marine Regiment and supporting units) remains in place in the Cape Gloucester area, patrolling and regrouping.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: USAAF B-25 Mitchells bomb concentrations in the Choiseul Bay area of New Georgia Island and Hahela Mission on southern Buka Island, while B-24 Liberators attack Tonolai, the Kahili supply area, Fauro Island, and Poporang building area on Bougainville Island.

PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarine USS Scorpion (SS-278) departed Pearl Harbour, Territory of Hawaii, on 29 December for her fourth war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Yellow Sea. On 3 January, she tops off her fuel at Midway Islands and heads west. Today, she attempts to rendezvous with sister ship USS Herring (SS 233) to transfer an injured crewmember. Heavy seas prevented the transfer, and Scorpion continues west. She is not heard from again and is assumed to be the victim of a Japanese mine, she was declared lost on 6 March 1944. (Joe Sauder)

HMC ML 097 commissioned.

Minesweeper HMCS Coquitlam launched Nanaimo, British Columbia.

Corvette HMCS Long Branch commissioned.

NEWFOUNDLAND: Corvette HMCS Lachute departed St. John's escort for Convoy SC-164.

U.S.A.:

Destroyer escort USS Cronin launched.

Escort carrier USS Windham Bay laid down.

Escort carrier USS Petrof Bay launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: A USN PBM-3S Mariner of Patrol Squadron Two Hundred Three (VP-203) based at NAF Aratu, Bahia, Brazil, sights German blockade runner SS Burgenland and summons USN light cruiser USS Omaha (CL-4) and destroyer USS Jouett (DD-396). Gunfire and scuttling charges sink Burgenland about 552 nautical miles (1 023 kilometres) east of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, in position 07.29S, 25.37W.

UNITED KINGDOM: Greenwich, London: Construction begins on Britain's first prefabricated houses. The UK and US announce continued support for the exile government in London. The USAAF Ninth Air Force's 9th Bombardment Division attacks rail bridges at Ahrweiler, Simmern, and Bullay, Germany, and communications centres at Gouvy, Houffalize, and near Durler, Belgium, and Massen, Luxembourg. Fighters escort the bombers and VIII Bomber Command bombers, fly armed reconnaissance, attack airfields, communications centres, traffic concentrations, and other targets, and support the US III and VIII Corps west and east of Bastogne and the 2d and 3d Armoured Divisions near Manhay, Belgium.

FRANCE: German forces recross the Rhine and re-enter Alsace in the Gombsheim area.

The French First Army is to take responsibility for the defence of Strasbourg upon relief of U.S. elements in that area by the French. Relief is scheduled for 2400 hours but is interrupted by a German attack.

In the U.S. Seventh Army area, XV Corps clears the Germans from Frauenberg and Gros Rederching. The VI Corps makes slow progress against the Bitche salient in the 45th Infantry Division sector. Most of Wingen and the rest of Philippsbourg are cleared. On the corps right flank, the Germans establish a bridgehead across the Rhine River in the Gambsheim area, crossing between Kilstett and Drusenheim and overrunning Offendorf, Herrlisheim, and Rohrweilcr. Task Force Linden, 42d Infantry Division, hit while executing reliefs, launches a two-pronged assault toward Gambsheim. Task Force A, VI Corps, moves from Weyersheim to the west bank of the Landgraben Canal; Task Force B, VI Corps, attacks from Kilstett but is stopped just north of there.

BELGIUM: Ardennes: The Luftwaffe opened the New Year with Bodenplatte, an attack by 1,035 fighters and bombers on 27 Allied airfields in Belgium and southern Holland. It knocked out 156 Allied aircraft, but cost 277 of its own planes, which were either shot down by the Allies or by its own Flak. It could be the end of German air power in the west.

When Hitler was planning his Ardennes offensive, Göring promised a thousand aircraft, Hitler, recalling Göring's earlier inflated promises, cut the figure to 800. At best, though, the Germans could never have offered more than a token resistance to the Allies, who can send up thousands of bombers to hit the German Panzers. Mist and low cloud were decisive in assisting the Germans in the first days of the offensive. Then, late on 22 December, six days after the first German attacks, a high wind built up, followed by heavy falls of snow. The skies cleared and the Allied aircraft came out in force, smashing up the Panzer columns at will. The C-47 transports, too, took off, lifting vital supplies to the besieged Americans in Bastogne.

By the middle of the week the weather had closed in again. Two armoured divisions backed by infantry, sent to attack Houffalize, were left struggling; visibility was so poor that not a single aircraft could support the attack.

In the U.S. First Army's VII Corps area, the 2d Armoured Divisional€™s main effort against Consy makes little headway; elements move toward Dochamps and clear part of Odeigne. The 3d Armoured Division is slowed by rear-guard action in Bois de Groumont but seizes Lavaux and enters Lierneux. The 75th Infantry Division moves to the Aisne River. In the XVIII Corps (Airborne) area, the 82d Airborne Division makes progress all along line and repels counterattacks near Bergeval.

In U.S. Third Army's VIII Corps area, the 87th Infantry Division meets resistance near Bonnerue and PironprÃ©, west of Bastogne. The rest of the corps maintains defensive positions. In the III Corps area, the 35th Infantry Division continues to fight for negligible gains.

During the night of 5/6 January, the USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 782: four B-24 Liberators and a B-17 Flying Fortress drop leaflets during the night over south-eastern Belgium.

GERMANY: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 781: 749 B-17 Flying Fortresses and 370 B-24 Liberators, escorted by 584 P-51 Mustangs, are dispatched to bomb rail targets and airfields in central Germany. One B-17 and one P-51 are lost. The bombers hit 29 different targets, the heaviest Niederbreisig Airfield hit by 124 B-17s.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 160 Lancasters to bomb the marshalling yards at Ludwigshafen; 152 bomb the target with the loss of two aircraft.

During the night of 5/6 January, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 664 aircraft, 340 Halifaxes, 310 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos, to bomb Hannover; 639 bomb the target with the loss of 23 Halifaxes and eight Lancasters, 4.7 per cent of the force. This is the first large raid on Hannover since October 1943. In other raids, 131 Lancasters and nine Mosquitos are sent to bomb Houffalize, a bottleneck in the German supply system in the Ardennes; 99 bomb the target with great accuracy; two Lancasters are lost. Mosquitos are also active during the night: 60 of 69 dispatched bomb Berlin, eight hit Neuss and six bomb a benzine refinery at Castrop Rauxel.

U-11 stricken at Kiel. Scuttled on 3 May 1945 in the Kiel Arsenal. Wreck broken up.

ITALY: The U.S. Fifth Army orders extensive regrouping. Regimental Combat Team 135 moves from the U.S. IV Corps zone to the U.S. II Corps area, reverting to the 34th Infantry Division. The 86th Mountain Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, is attached to IV Corps.

In the British Eighth Army area, the British V Corps and Canadian I Corps complete limited attacks to improve the Winter Line positions. The two corps link up along the Senio River between Cotignola and St. Severo. The Canadian I Corps advances to the Reno River except on the extreme right.

GREECE: Athens: A peaceful solution to the civil war which has threatened to destroy Greece seemed likely today with the appearance of a moderate cabinet under a new prime minister, General Plastiras. The new premier has ignored demands from the left-wing ELAS organization for 50% of the cabinet seats and has excluded all extremists. Plastiras urged "all who have been misled and have turned their arms against their country" to return to duty.

YUGOSLAVIA: A USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bombs the East marshalling yard at Zagreb; 69 others abort due to total cloud cover over the target; 38 P-51 Mustangs fly cover over the target area; 33 P-38 Lightnings bomb the northern railroad bridge at Doboj; other operations are limited to reconnaissance, supply drops, and escort.

During the night of 5/6 December, 39 RAF heavy bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the South railroad bridge at Doboj.

U.S.S.R.: The Soviet government recognizes the communist Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polish Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego, PKWN), also known as the Lublin Committee, as the Provisional Government of Poland. The U.K. and U.S. announce continued support for the exile government in London, England.

JAPAN: USN Task Force 92 (Rear Admiral John L. McCrea), consisting of the light cruisers USS Concord (CL-10), Richmond (CL-9) and Trenton (CL-11) and eight destroyers, bombards Japanese installations (airfield and fish canneries) at Suribachi Wan, Paramushiro, Kurile Islands. Four USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberators fly an air coverage mission for a naval task force on its approach to Paramushiru Island.

CHINA: Two USAAF Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts join ground forces in attacking artillery positions at Kunlong.

Four USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack 13 storage buildings at Kengtung; 29 P-40s and P-51 Mustangs hit airfields at Hankow and Wuchang claiming 50 aircraft destroyed in the air and on the ground; 23 P-51s and P-38 Lightnings hit the airfield and other targets in Samah Bay area on Hainan Island, claiming 11 aircraft destroyed and 30 P-40s and P-38s attack various targets of opportunity around Sinsiang, and Kengtung.

BURMA: Four weeks after crossing the Chindwin river the 19th Indian Division is poised to enter Shwebo. After advancing 90 miles east to Indaw, where it linked up with the 36th Indian Division and Lt Gen Daniel I Sultan's Chinese divisions on 15 December the 19th moved south and is expected to take Shwebo tomorrow. The Allies have already captured Akyab on the coast this week.

Lt-Gen William Slim, 14th Army Commander, had hoped to bring the main Japanese army in central Burma to battle on the Shwebo Plain, with its back to the Irrawaddy. Instead the Japanese are withdrawing east across the river. Now he is moving IV Corps 200 miles south in Operation Extended Capital, to take Japan's base at Meiktila and cut Japan's 15th Army off from the rear.

In the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) area, elements of the 90th Regiment, Chinese 30th Division, begin crossing the Shweli River.

Sixteen USAAF Tenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells flying an airfield sweep inflict considerable damage on the Laihka, Aungban, Kunlon, and Mong Long airfields; in the Namhkam sector, two P-47 Thunderbolts join ground forces in attacking artillery positions at Wingkang; nine P-47s damage bypass bridges at Mongmit; over 70 fighter-bombers attack storage areas, tanks and trucks, and troop concentrations at Mong Yaw, Hsenwi, Hpa-Pen, Man Ton, Tunghka, Man Peng, and Longhsu.

USAAF transports fly 550+ sorties to forward bases and frontline areas. Operation GRUBWORM, one of the major transport achievements of the war, is completed on this date one month from its start. The Chinese 14th and 22d Divisions, Chinese Sixth Army Headquarters, a heavy mortar company, a signal company, and two portable surgical hospitals have been airlifted. The move required 1,328 transport sorties; Air Transport Command provided 597 sorties; the air commando squadrons, 488; and Tenth Air Force, 243; the airlift included over 25,000 Chinese soldiers, 396 U.S. soldiers, 1,596 animals, 42 jeeps, 48 howitzers, 48 heavy mortars, and 48 antitank guns; the troops and supplies have been landed at Chanyi, Kunming, Luliang, and Yunnani, China. Only three aircraft were lost during the operation.

Three USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb Wan Pa-Hsa and Hawng Luk and fighters attack various targets of opportunity at Wan Pa-Hsa and in the Wanling area. Four P-40s attack fortified hill positions in the Salween area.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: A USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberator bombs the Cap-Saint-Jacques area.

THAILAND: Five USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells knock out a bridge at Dara.

EAST INDIES: In major strikes of the day in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), USAAF Far East Air Forces (FEAF) B-25 Mitchells and P-38 Lightnings and RAAF Beaufighters bomb Menado on Celebes Island while FEAF B-24 Liberators attack Miri Airfield in Sarawak, British Borneo. Numerous smaller strikes are flown throughout the NEI. Fighter-bombers and B-24 Liberators hit the Pombelaa and Tondano area, and targets of opportunity on northeastern Celebes Island. Other FEAF aircraft fly scattered strikes at various targets in Borneo, Lesser Sunda Islands, and Tanimbar Island in the Moluccas Islands.

BONIN ISLANDS: US Task Group 94.9 (Rear Admiral Allan E. Smith), consisting of the heavy cruisers USS Chester (CA-27), Pensacola (CA-24) and Salt Lake City (CA-25) and destroyers USS Cummings (DD-365), David W. Taylor (DD-551), Dunlop (DD-384), Ellet (DD-398), Fanning (DD-385) and Roe (DD-418), together with USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators (escorted by P-38 Lightnings) jointly bombard Japanese shipping and installations on Chichi Jima and Haha Jima. Approaching Chichi Jima, USS Dunlap (DD-384), Fanning (DD-386) and Cummings (DD-365) damage a landing ship and USS Fanning sinks her. Off Chichi Jima, USS David W. Taylor is damaged by a mine and USS Fanning by gunfire. Off Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands, USS Dunlap, Cummings, Ellet and Roe sink a landing ship.

Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the Seventh Air Force's VII Bomber Command have a busy day with the following activities:

1. They serve as spotter aircraft for USN carrier planes and surface ships that attack Chichi Jima, Haha Jima and Iwo Jima;

2. 22 B-24s bomb Iwo Jima in the morning and afternoon; and 3. They guide seven Lockheed P-38 Lightnings of the 318th Fighter Group based on Saipan to Iwo Jima for strafing attacks.

In addition, PB4Ys (USN B-24s) mount photographic reconnaissance missions against Iwo Jima.

VOLCANO ISLANDS: Twenty two USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Saipan Island, in morning and afternoon raids, bomb Iwo Jima; seven P-38 Lightnings, with three B-24 as navigational escort, fly a strafing mission against Iwo Jima. In addition, USN PB4Y-1 (B-24) Liberators mount photographic reconnaissance missions against Iwo Jima.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Heavy cruiser USS Louisville hit by two Kamikazes in Lingayen Gulf.

On Mindoro, Palauan falls to a composite force of guerrillas and 503d Parachute Infantry Regiment troops. Another platoon of Company F, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, arrives at Bulalacao and joins in the march northeast toward Paclasan and Dutagan Point.

On Leyte, U.S. Lieutenant General Richard Sutherland, Chief of Staff South West Pacific Area, tells Australian Lieutenant General Sir Frank Berryman, Chief of Staff Advanced Headquarter Allied Land Forces South West Pacific Area, that after Luzon is secured, eight divisions, including the Australian Imperial Force, will be used to conquer Borneo and the Netherlands East Indies.

In major strikes of the day, USAAF Far East Air Forces B-25 Mitchells hit shore installations along Lingayan Gulf, Luzon, while numerous smaller strikes are flown throughout the Philippine Islands. A-20 Havocs and fighter-bombers attack airfields on Luzon, the central Philippine Islands area and Mindanao Island.

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Scorpion believed sunk by Japanese mine. No survivors. In the South China Sea, Japanese air attacks continue against the Lingayen Gulf-bound forces in the teeth of heavy antiaircraft fire and combat air patrol. Of the minesweeping group, an infantry landing craft (gunboat) is damaged by a kamikaze, a small seaplane tender and a fleet tug are damaged by near-misses of suicides. Kamikazes attacking the bombardment and escort carrier groups succeed in damaging heavy cruiser USS Louisville (CA-28) and destroyer USS Helm (DD-388) about 71 nautical miles (131 kilometres) northwest of Subic; escort aircraft carriers USS Manila Bay (CVE-61), about 63 nautical miles (116 kilometres) west northwest of Subic, and USS Savo Island (CVE-78), about 77 nautical miles (142 kilometres) west-northwest of Subic; and destroyer escort USS Stafford (DE-411), about 55 nautical miles (101 kilometres) south-southwest of Subic. Suicides also damage Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Australia (D 84) and destroyer HMAS Arunta (I 30). Japanese escort destroyers approach the minesweeping group but turn away at approach of destroyer USS Bennion (DD-662) and Australian frigate HMAS Gascoyne (K 354) and sloop HMAS Warrego (L 73); subsequently, planes from TG 77.4 (escort carrier group) sink HIJMS Momi 20 nautical miles 37 kilometres) southwest of the entrance to Manila Bay and damage HIJMS Hinoki and Sugi west of Manila Bay.

Two PB4Y-1 Liberators of Patrol Bombing Squadron One Hundred Eleven (VPB 111) based on Tinian Island, Mariana Islands, sink Japanese midget submarine Ha.71 about 2 nautical miles (3,7 kilometres) southwest of Chichi Jima, Bonin Islands.